Utah People's Post

The Latest News from the Beehive State

Friday, May 20, 2022
Log in
  • National News
    • Female Caseworker Killed & Doctor Shot in Philadelphia
  • State News
    • Car Chase Leads to Drug Arrest
  • Tech & Science
  • Health
    • How to Prepare For Ticks Season
    • Magical Weight Loss Bean Scam
  • Sports
  • Business
You are here: Home / Tech & Science / Exozodiacal Light Hinders the Discovery of Alien Planets

Exozodiacal Light Hinders the Discovery of Alien Planets

November 4, 2014 Posted by Staff

Exozodiacal Light

Astronomers are searching for signs of extraterrestrial life forms using all the tools they have. The Earth’s neighboring planets, as well as comets and asteroids are extensively researched with the help of orbiters and rovers. But finding habitable planets outside the Solar System is the astronomical Holy Grail. Unfortunately, a team of scientists found a characteristic that may hinder such a groundbreaking discovery.

The Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) is operated by the European Southern Observatory and sits at more than 8,500 feet high in Chile. The international team of researchers used all the four telescopes and pushed them to their limits to look at 92 stars.

Their aim was to observe how exozodiacal light affects the visibility of potentially habitable planets. Exozodiacal light occurs when starlight reflects on dust created after asteroids collide with each other. It was the first time when the phenomenon has been researched in the vicinity of nearby stars at this scale.

“If we want to study the evolution of Earth-like planets close to the habitable zone, we need to observe the zodiacal dust in this region around other stars,” said Steve Ertel, lead author of the paper, from ESO and the University of Grenoble in France. “Detecting and characterising this kind of dust around other stars is a way to study the architecture and evolution of planetary systems.”

Zodiacal light is visible from Earth, although very dark nights are required to notice the faint light. Exozodiacal light is a good indicator of a solar system’s age. As time passes, the dust tends to settle down, allowing greater visibility.

Scientists discovered exozodiacal dust in the hospitable regions around nine of the 92 stars. The light was 1000 times brighter than the one visible in our own Solar System.

“The high detection rate found at this bright level suggests that there must be a significant number of systems containing fainter dust, undetectable in our survey, but still much brighter than the Solar System’s zodiacal dust,” explains Olivier Absil, co-author of the paper, from the University of Liège. “The presence of such dust in so many systems could therefore become an obstacle for future observations, which aim to make direct images of Earth-like exoplanets.”

The discovery of the obstacle in the search of extraterrestrial forms of life may be a downer for some. Others will probably see it as a challenge. James Webb Space Telescope, to be launched in 2018 may offer new research perspectives, as Hubble’s successor will sport a 21 feet diameter mirror.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Filed Under: Tech & Science Tagged With: alien planets, Astronomy, exozodiacal light, space research, Very Large Telescope Interferometer, zodiacal light

Woman working out at the gym

Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)

June 29, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

United Airlines airplane

Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston

June 28, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Breakfast sandwich

Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Poppy flower

UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply

June 27, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

U.S.-Canada border

French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border

June 26, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Plus size model

Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

June 25, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Giant manta ray

Unique Manta Ray Nursery Spotted off Texas Coast

June 23, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

The rainbow flag

WHO Scraps Transgenderism from List of Mental Illnesses

June 22, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

456 People Dead at U.K. Hospital after Taking too Many Painkillers

June 21, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Kenyan girls dancing

Kenyans Facing Poor Nutrition as Supermarket Shopping Is on the Rise

June 20, 2018 By Amelia Donovan

Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Staff
  • Terms and Conditions

Recent Posts

  • Just 23% of Americans Are Working Out Enough in Their Spare Time
  • Poliovirus Therapy Gives Brain Cancer Patients New Hope (Study)
  • Passenger Mysteriously Dies on United Airlines flight Bound for Boston
  • Here Are Some Foods No Nutritionist Would Ever Eat
  • UN Warns of Surge in Opium-based Drugs and Cocaine Supply
  • French Jogger Detained 2 Weeks for Accidentally Crossing Border
  • Normalizing Plus Size Could Fuel Obesity Crisis (Study)

Related Articles

  • Crosses on a wall

    Religious People Live Longer, Are Less Stressed than Atheists, Study

    Jun 15, 2018
  • Antineutrino Detector

    Scientists Discover an Even More Elusive Particle than Neutrinos

    Jun 5, 2018
  • Funny Albert Einstein

    Time Travel Is Already Here

    May 30, 2018
  • Planet 2003UB313

    Scientists Found Evidence that Elusive Planet 9 May Be Real

    May 18, 2018
  • Kuiper Belt Object

    This Asteroid in Kuiper Belt Is Nothing Scientists Have Seen Before

    May 11, 2018
  • Elephant raising its trunk

    Elephants Communicate with Their Feet, Scientists Confirm

    May 9, 2018
  • Starbucks store

    Black Men Settle for $1 Each after Racist Arrest at Starbucks

    May 3, 2018
  • Tech addiction

    Facebook Pioneers Forming Coalition to Lobby Against Tech Addiction

    Feb 5, 2018
  • Kaspersky Co-founder Natalia Kasperskaya

    Kaspersky Boss: Bitcoin Was Created by U.S. Govt to Fund CIA’s Black Ops

    Feb 1, 2018
  • Amazon Go shopper

    Amazon Gets Rid of Cashiers at Its Check-Out Free Store

    Jan 30, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • National News
  • Nature
  • Provo
  • Salt Lake News
  • Science
  • Sports
  • State News
  • Tech & Science
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • West Jordan
  • West Valley City
  • World

Copyright © 2022 utahpeoplespost.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Site Map · Contact