To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
A Couple of Snapshots
OK. So they aren't exactly snapshots. Well, here... just take a look and tell me what you think they are: 
Give up? Well, clicking on either photo will take you to the news articles, but... those are two photos of what is probably a planet. That isn't is our solar system. What's the big deal? If confirmed, these will be the first images ever taken of an exoplanet. And that is a very big deal.
In other space news, they still haven't decided if Pluto gets demoted or a bunch of KBO get promoted, NASA's running into things on purpose these days, and scientists are fascinated by blobs. You read correctly. Gigantic Galactic Blobs.
Give up? Well, clicking on either photo will take you to the news articles, but... those are two photos of what is probably a planet. That isn't is our solar system. What's the big deal? If confirmed, these will be the first images ever taken of an exoplanet. And that is a very big deal."This is the first image of a planet outside our solar system," said UCLA astronomer Eric Becklin, quickly correcting himself to say it was an image most likely to be of an extrasolar planet. "So we really need to be sure."Yeah, I know. Big whoop. Well, it is a big whoop for those of us who used to dream of being an astronaut when we grew up, or wrote poetry about nebula, or looked forward to discovering the secrets of black holes and dwarf stars, or just really really had a crush on Starbuck. (What? That was just me? Oh... never mind...)
Becklin and others eagerly await the April observations.
If confirmed, the finding would have "enormous impact" on the ability of astronomers to get funding for future telescopes that would look for Earth-like planets, said Steve Maran, press officer of the American Astronomical Society.
In other space news, they still haven't decided if Pluto gets demoted or a bunch of KBO get promoted, NASA's running into things on purpose these days, and scientists are fascinated by blobs. You read correctly. Gigantic Galactic Blobs.
