Astronomers discover hidden alien planet in James Webb images

from ScienceDaily

A breakthrough in telescope imaging could reveal countless alien worlds that have been hiding in plain sight. Scientists developed a new technique that uses a digital twin of the James Webb Space Telescope to remove the overwhelming glare of stars, making faint exoplanets two to 15 times easier to detect than with conventional methods. The technology has already uncovered a previously hidden planet in existing telescope data and could reveal many more.

explained

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a space telescope designed to conduct infrared astronomy. It is the largest telescope in space, and is equipped with high-resolution and high-sensitivity instruments, allowing it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope. This enables investigations across many fields of astronomy and cosmology, such as observation of the first stars and the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets.

Despite Webb's mirror diameter being 2.7 times larger than that of the Hubble Space Telescope, it produces images of comparable resolution because it observes in the infrared spectrum, which has longer wavelengths than the Hubble's visible spectrum. The longer the wavelength the telescope is designed to observe, the larger the information-gathering surface (mirrors in the infrared spectrum or antenna area in the millimeter and radio ranges) required to achieve the desired resolution.

The Webb was launched on 25 December 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. In January 2022, it arrived at its destination, a solar orbit near the Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 mi) from Earth. The telescope's first image was released to the public on 11 July 2022.

From Wikipedia: James Webb Space Telescope (CC BY-SA 4.0) ↗ · text CC BY-SA 4.0

how it works

A telescope's optics spread starlight into a pattern that swamps nearby faint objects. If the pattern is modelled accurately, it can be subtracted from the image, leaving the planet's own light.

so what

Old archives can now be reprocessed for new planets without building a new telescope, so many more worlds may be hiding in the data.

fun fact

Webb's primary mirror is made of 18 gold-coated hexagonal segments.

Trump and Netanyahu reportedly clash over whether to resume military action against Iran

the gist

Israeli reports also say the cabinet directed the military to prepare for a possible new attack on Iran.

so what

The United States and Israel have been closely aligned on Iran's nuclear programme and regional threats, so open disagreement between their leaders over military strategy is unusual and closely watched. Whether to resume strikes is a decision with consequences for shipping, oil markets and the wider Middle East.

fun fact

Benjamin Netanyahu has served as Prime Minister of Israel for more years in total than any other person.

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Data: GDELT Project

Illustrative photo · Israel Belkind and Fanny Abramovitch (original) “The Provis…, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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supplementary video · Epimetheus on YouTube ↗

world cultures & travelWikivoyageclassic9th–15th century · Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor was the largest pre-industrial city on Earth, covering about 3,000 square kilometres

the gist

Angkor, near Siem Reap in northern Cambodia, was the capital of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of mainland Southeast Asia between roughly the 9th and 15th centuries. At its height the city spread across about 3,000 square kilometres, making it the largest pre-industrial city on Earth by area. Its growth depended on water: huge reservoirs called barays, along with canals and embankments, stored monsoon rain and carried it to rice fields. That system let farmers harvest more than once a year and fed a very large population through the dry season. The temple complex of Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century, is the best-known monument and still stands at the heart of the park.

how it works

The Khmer kings built enormous rectangular reservoirs that caught monsoon rain during the wet season. Earthen dykes and canals moved that water into rice paddies, so farmers could grow crops across much of the year. The surplus food supported craftsmen, builders and the workforce that raised the temples.

so what

Angkor shows how a society without industrial machinery could build a city on a scale that rivals modern metropolises, using engineering and water management instead. Some historians link its decline to drought, flooding and shifts in its water systems, which makes it a long-running case study in how cities depend on managing water. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important archaeological landscapes in Southeast Asia.

fun fact

The outline of Angkor Wat appears on the national flag of Cambodia.