Newfound Exoplanet Likely Came from Another Galaxy
Now a new study has located yet another extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, within our galaxy. But this one seems to have started out in another galaxy that was then consumed by, and incorporated into, the Milky Way several billion years ago.
The newfound planet, which is somewhat more massive than Jupiter, was announced online November 18 in Science by a group of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (M.P.I.A.) in Heidelberg, Germany, and the European Space Agency. The team used a telescope on a Chilean mountaintop to observe HIP 13044, an aging star about 2,000 light-years from our solar system.
The star showed a periodic wobble on a timescale of 16.2 days that the researchers concluded was most plausibly explained by the gravitational tug of a massive planet orbiting very close by. Astronomers have found the vast majority of known exoplanets by tracking these stellar wobbles through Doppler shifts in the star's light. But the discovery of the newfound HIP 13044 b, named by convention for its host star, is surprising for a few reasons.
One is that HIP 13044 b is the first verifiable exoplanet of extragalactic origin. (A tentative detection of a possible planet in Andromeda was announced in 2009, but the kind of one-off observation used in that study is not confirmable.) HIP 13044 belongs to the Helmi stream, a population of stars that stretches through the Milky Way with similar, unusual orbits and compositions. The Helmi stream was determined in 1999 to have originated in a small galaxy, similar to the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, that was cannibalized by the larger Milky Way. Later work found that the ingested galaxy must have been devoured six billion to nine billion years ago.
Another peculiarity is that the new planet's host star is quite evolved, having already passed through the red giant phase that awaits our sun in about five billion years. When the sun becomes a red giant, it will swell to many times its current size, and most likely swallow the planets of the inner solar system. But HIP 13044 b sticks close to its host star, well within the region that would be expected to be engulfed by a red giant, meaning that it may have migrated inward from an earlier, wider orbit as the star contracted. The researchers speculate that the planet may await destruction when the star swells again in the next phase of its evolution, when it becomes a so-called asymptotic giant branch star.
Additionally, most known exoplanets orbit stars that are at least as metallic as the sun—that is, they are enriched in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. But HIP 13044 and its fellow Helmi stream stars are extremely metal-poor. HIP 13044, which is nearly as massive as the sun, has only about 1 percent the metallicity of our planet's host star, making it the most metal-deficient star known to harbor a planet.
"In the current picture of planet formation, you have the core accretion scenario—you need heavy elements to form planetary embryos," says study co-author Rainer Klement, an astronomer at M.P.I.A. "Apparently this doesn't work for the planet we found now." An alternate theoretical mechanism, called disk instability, would allow planets to form without first assembling a rocky core; the discovery of HIP 13044 b could add observational weight to the model. "Now we found a planet around a very metal-poor star, and there has to be some other mechanism at work to form this planet," Klement says.
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Airports starting to opt out of TSA screening
wdbo - The backlash continues over those new TSA screening measures, and now one Central Florida airport has decided to go with a private security screening firm.
Orlando Sanford International Airport has decided to opt out from TSA screening.
"All of our due diligence shows it's the way to go," said Larry Dale, the director of the Sanford Airport Authority. "You're going to get better service at a better price and more accountability and better customer service."
Dale says he will be sending a letter requesting to opt out from TSA screening, and instead the airport will choose one of the five approved private screening companies to take over.
Congressman John Mica, who's expected to lead the powerful Transportation Committee next year, says the TSA is crying out for reform.
"I think TSA is overstepping its bounds," said Mica.
Dale says, if all goes as planned, the private security firm could take over in about 12 months.
The TSA points out that even if an airport decides to use a private firm for security, the screeners still must follow TSA guidelines. That would include using enhanced pat-downs and the full-body scanners if they are installed at the airport.
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China simmers as children of elite show criminal indifference
irishtimes - It has become a catchphrase for state irresponsibility and arrogance: “Sue me if you dare. My father is Li Gang.”
It is an expression that has spread like wildfire on the internet, highlighting a growing public outrage at the criminal indifference of some children of the privileged to the broader masses.
After driving his black Volkswagen Magotan into two rollerblading students, while drunk, outside Hebei University in the Beishi district, Li Qiming did not stop until intercepted by security guards and students on campus.
Mr Li then stepped out of the car and uttered the immortal phrase with no sign of remorse.
His father, Li Gang, is indeed deputy chief of the public security bureau in Baoding City, Hebei province, northern China. This position would usually guarantee immunity from broader consequences.
The story broke initially on local media, but soon the censor, fearful of wider social problems, put the lid on the news. However, Li Qiming’s comments have been widely publicised online and have provoked angry reactions from millions of Chinese citizens.
One of the two women struck by Mr Li’s car, Chen Xiaofeng, died after the incident. Her brother, Chen Lin, said in an interview carried on the Danwei website that Mr Li said it because he was showing off.
“It’s relying on the power of his family; he said it subconsciously. Lots of people are like this now. I think he’s using it as a kind of backup, I don’t think it was because he was afraid. It was just subconscious – ‘this is who my family is, you can’t do this and this to me’ ,” Mr Chen said.
The dead student’s father, Chen Guangqian, said he was sure the perpetrator had lots of connections within Baoding. “I am afraid,” he said in the interview.
On the Sina website, outraged postings have appeared. “No need to panic after any crime, as my father is Li Gang,” posted one commentator, part of a broader contest to come up with sentences containing the words “my father is Li Gang”. Another wrote: “I never pay my telephone bills. My father is Li Gang.”
The story has rattled cages, even among the Communist Party elite which realises it needs the support of the people to stay in power. The party has had to deal with numerous incidents where public dismay with party officials has caused social instability.
Wu Zhongmin, a professor at the party school of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, told the Xinhua news agency: “Like father like son. If the children of officials think that they are the privileged class, will future generations follow suit? . . . the question is where will China go from here.”
The story emerged on the same day as Wu Yuren, an artist who led a march towards Tiananmen Square last February, was brought to court over a scuffle with police. Supporters say the trial is revenge for his outspoken work.
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Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce...special orders don't upset us!
Several workers at a Sacramento Burger King have been fired for leaving less than polite messages on customer's receipts. After spending $9.22 on a double Whopper with cheese, onion rings and a small drink at the Arden Way Burger King earlier this week, customer Francisco Perez looked down at his receipt and saw the words "f--- you" on it - not once, but twice.
“All I did was place my order and got a ‘f-you’ burger,” said Perez. "Actually, I am embarrassed. It's humiliating. So, I showed the guy and he just kind of laughed. There was no 'Sorry, we'll fix it.'" Perez said he did nothing to provoke the workers and that the firings are justified. “It just goes to show you don't play around with somebody's business,” said Perez.
Customers at the Burger King were split about whether the workers' punishment fits the crime. “Just a little time off to think about what he did,” customer Rikki Montoya suggested as possible discipline for the incident. “Probably not fired, because I'm sure he's never going to do it again.”
“I think they should lose their jobs,” said customer Emi Watanabe. “I really do. Anybody that writes something like that doesn't deserve to work here.” Perez said the company called late on Wednesday to offer vouchers for free food. He told the Burger King representative ‘no thanks.’ Perez said he plans to never eat at a Burger King again and that he's thinking about filing a lawsuit.
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Bachelorette Party Prank Leaves Bride Paralyzed
aolnews - A freak accident at a bachelorette party has left a Virginia bride-to-be paralyzed in a wheelchair for life, and unmarried at least for now.
Rachelle Friedman and her girlfriends decided to jump into a backyard pool when they got home from a girls' night out. One of the bridesmaids playfully pushed Friedman into the water -- something she says they'd done countless times before. But this time was different.
"I instantly went stiff and couldn't move," Friedman, 25, told ABC News. "I weirdly did not panic. I kind of knew exactly what happened, and I floated up to the surface and said, 'Help!' and then my friends called 911."
Doctors say that she suffered a C6 spinal cord injury and that she'll probably never walk again.
The wedding, scheduled for June, was postponed indefinitely, though Friedman and her fiance are still a couple. They want to get married, but if they do, their combined income would force Friedman to lose her Medicaid insurance, which she needs to pay for therapy, her wheelchair and medication.
Her family has set up a website where people can donate to help pay for her medical expenses.
"I was always kind of scared something was going to mess up my perfect world," she said. "It was literally perfect, but it completely changed, and that can happen to anyone."
