List of All Articles with Tag 'h'

Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a “fluffy” planet with an atmosphere made up of a collection of intriguing materials. The planet has a similar water and cloud cycle to that of our own Earth. But the clouds are made of sand and the clouds are made of silicate. Other parts of the atmosphere are more like our own and could be an intriguing hint of the telescope’s ability to investigate planets that might be home to distant alien life. Data gathered using the telescope revealed that WASP-107b - a planet 200 lightyears away that orbits a star in the constellation of Virgo - has a dynamic atmosphere made up of water vapour, sulphur dioxide, and sand clouds. Scientists say this exoplanet - a planet outside the Solar System - has a cloud cycle similar to Earth, except the droplets are made of sand instead of water vapour. While clouds have been inferred on other exoplanets, the researchers said their work, published in the journal Nature, is the first instance where astronomers have been able to identify the chemical composition of clouds in a distant planet. Study author Dr Achrene Dyrek, an astronomer at CEA - a French government-funded research organisation in Paris, said: “JWST enables a deep atmospheric characterisation of an exoplanet that does not have any counterpart in our Solar System, we are unravelling new worlds!” European astronomers used JWST’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to peer deep into WASP-107b’s atmosphere. WASP-107b is just a little smaller than Jupiter but its mass is less than 10% of the gas giant. This makes it one of the lowest density exoplanets known, thus earning the label “fluffy” - like candyfloss. The fluffiness of this exoplanet allowed astronomers to look much deeper into the atmosphere - roughly 50 times deeper compared to Jupiter - revealing its complex chemical composition. While the team found the presence of water vapour, SO2, and silicate clouds, they said the greenhouse gas methane (CH4) was notably absent, hinting at “a potentially warm interior”. Just like clouds on Earth, the sand clouds high in WASP-107b’s atmosphere undergo a continuous cycle of sublimation and condensation. Study author Dr Michiel Min, a senior scientist at the SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, said: “The fact that we see these sand clouds high up in the atmosphere must mean that the sand rain droplets evaporate in deeper, very hot layers and the resulting silicate vapour is efficiently moved back up, where they recondense to form silicate clouds once more. “This is very similar to the water vapour and cloud cycle on our own Earth but with droplets made of sand.” The researchers said their work marks “a significant milestone” in understanding more about the climatic conditions of other exotic worlds. Study author Professor Leen Decin, of KU Leuven in Belgium, said: “The discovery of clouds of sand, water, and sulphur dioxide on this fluffy exoplanet by JWST’s MIRI instrument is a pivotal milestone. “It reshapes our understanding of planetary formation and evolution, shedding new light on our own Solar System.” Additional reporting by agencies Read More Robot hand with bones, ligaments and tendons 3D printed in world first Ring to preview security features with abuse charity to boost safety WhatsApp users warned they will soon have to pay to keep old messages and photos Robot hand with bones, ligaments and tendons 3D printed in world first Ring to preview security features with abuse charity to boost safety WhatsApp users warned they will soon have to pay to keep old messages and photos

By David Morgan and Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate said on Wednesday they

A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators has written to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding documents about its

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LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Ocado Group has secured its first deal outside grocery retail to provide its robotic warehouse technology to

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Donald Trump is seeking a mistrial in New York state’s $250 million civil fraud lawsuit against the former

It’s the biggest story in the gaming world, and now there’s been more detail reportedly leaked about Grand Theft Auto 6. Developers Rockstar put fans on high alert recently after announcing the release of a new trailer, due later this year. While it’s yet to be confirmed, there’s more info been rumoured about the highly-anticipated game, some of which represents a first for the series. We already know that reports suggest the new game will include a playable female character for the first time in the game franchise since the release of Grand Theft Auto III. Now, it’s also been reported that it will feature a young child character for the first time. Previous reports claimed that the game is said to feature two bank robbers as playable main characters, a man and a woman, who have a Bonnie and Clyde-like relationship. According to RockstarUniverse, the female protagonist, named Lucia, will have a child who features in cutscenes – the first time the series will feature a young child in the storyline. Details have still yet to emerge about the new game, but one thing we do know is Rockstar have a big job on their hands if they want to match the success of Grand Theft Auto V. The fifth instalment of the hugely popular video game series was released in 2013 and went on to sell 185 million copies. There is plenty of speculation about the new game. According to a report in Bloomberg, the series will return to Vice City, the setting for iconic 00s game GTA Vice City based on Miami, for the new instalment. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

As expected, Jim Harbaugh was as Jim Harbaugh as humanly possible during Monday's press conference, which means he is back to being to the wacky and weirdly wonderful version of himself again. What did the Michigan head coach say at the podium on Monday?

If you’re a Novo Nordisk A/S employee with obesity, you will have access to a unique company perk:

Apple said on Wednesday iPhone 14 users would get free access to its emergency SOS feature for another