FLAIR - UTILITIES

Science Monitor
NEW INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES
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A jupiter-sized planet orbiting a young star in Earth’s ‘‘backyard’’ could help reveal whether Earth, with its variety of life forms, is a unique jewel in the universe. William Cochran, with the University of Texas’ McDonald Observatory, said that the planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani was ‘‘a star very similar to our own Sun’’. ‘‘It is the closest star for which a planet has ever been discovered,’’ said Geoff Marcy, professor at the University of California-Berkeley and co-author on the project, adding, ‘‘It’s only 10 light years away. In the next 100 or 200 years, it will be one of the first stars humans visit.’’ Scientists discovered the planet by observing Epsilon Eridani as it wobbled on its axis. The wobble is caused by the planet’s gravitational influence as it orbits the star. By measuring the size and frequency of the wobble, the size of the planet and its distance from the host star can be calculated.

Scientists have discovered the youngest cluster of massive stars yet detected in the Milky Way galaxy. Imagine a bunch of big, fat, feverish babies who can cry across the galaxy while hiding out in the womb. That’s how astrophysicist Peter Conti describes the stars. The one million-year-old cluster, known as W49, is a huge gas cloud surrounding a batch of hot, heavy stars that emit radio waves but are hidden by individual shrouds of gas and dust. ‘‘You are looking at the cocoons. You don’t see the babies yet,’’ said Conti, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. ‘‘They are in their individual wombs and the whole thing [W49] is the nursery.’’ W49 is a glowing cloud of ionized hydrogen known as a giant HII region.

According to NASA scientists, the hunt for large asteroids that might collide with Earth has reached a milestone — it is estimated that about half of these giant space rocks have now been found. NASA’s goal is to find 90 per cent of ‘‘Near Earth Asteroids’’ larger than 1,000 yards (1 kilometre) by 2009. In recent years, the discovery rate has improved dramatically. In figures just released by NASA, the linear system in New Mexico still dominates the discovery statistics. Recent estimates suggest there are about 900 of these objects larger than 0.6 mile (1 kilometre) in diameter. A collision with a space rock of this size could destroy civilisation. David Morrison from NASA reported that 410 large NEAs have now been found. He points out that this is just past the halfway mark — assuming that the 90 per cent goal is achieved when 810 large NEAs have been found.

A British Government study into mobile phone hands-free kits said they significantly cut the exposure of users to radiation from their mobile phones. The study, commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry, concluded that hands-free kits offered substantial reductions in exposure compared to normal use of mobile phones. The result contradicted an independent report four months ago which warned that the kits, designed to protect mobile phone users from radiation, actually channel three times more of it to their brain. DTI officials said that all levels of mobile phone radiation — with or without the kits — fell comfortably within guidelines set by British and international organisations.

Scientists are analysing weather-satellite pictures to keep an eye on 100 dangerous, remote volcanoes along the Pacific Rim in Alaska and Russia. What they are looking for is excess heat that indicates a volcano is likely to erupt. The method allows scientists to observe volcanoes when it is too expensive to install earthquake sensors to listen for signs of imminent eruptions. Only 27 volcanoes in Alaska and Russian Kamchatka are monitored seismically because reaching these remote locations is difficult and costly. ‘‘Using heat sensors on satellites, we can see changes at volcanoes days to months ahead of eruptions,’’ said volcanologist Jonathan Dehn of the Alaska Volcano Observatory’s Fairbanks office. ‘‘It allows us to monitor volcanoes we normally cannot due to their remote location.’’

In 1633, Roman Catholic astronomer Galileo Galilei was punished for suggesting that Earth revolves around the Sun, a scientific theory that threatened the Church’s place in the universe. Since then, scientists and theologians alike have jealously guarded their domains. Today, the Christian Association of Stellar Explorers is mending the rift between science and religion. This amateur astronomy club in the mostly Christian town of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, is teaching Christians that they don’t have to be afraid of science. ‘‘We believe God created everything in the universe,’’ says founding member and club president Patrick C. Carr. ‘‘After that, science is a perfectly acceptable way of learning how the universe works.’’.