Zeroing in. New parallax measurements have established the distances of young stars in the Orion Nebula with unprecedented precision. Credit: C.R. O'Dell and S.K. Wong (Rice University)/NASA
Posted on 10/22/2007 8:44:16 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The result of the measurements, the team reports in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal, is that the nebula is only 1270 light-years away, or about 20&percent; closer than previous estimates. "We were surprised by the new distance, although in retrospect, we shouldn't be," says astronomer and co-author Geoffrey Bower. The new measurement fits with previous estimates when their margin of error is considered, he says. Because distance measurements are used to calculate the brightness--and hence age--of stars, the new data indicate that Orion's stars are older than previously thought, which makes them consistent with current theory about stellar evolution, Bower notes... Bower says his team next will be taking more precise measurements of nearby low-mass stars to detect the telltale wobble in their motion that reveals orbiting extrasolar planets. That project, called the Radio Interferometric Planet Search, also will rely on the Very Long Baseline Array.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencenow.sciencemag.org ...
Zeroing in. New parallax measurements have established the distances of young stars in the Orion Nebula with unprecedented precision. Credit: C.R. O'Dell and S.K. Wong (Rice University)/NASA
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“1270 light-years away, or about 20% closer”
1270, previously thought to be 1587.5, so the stars in the nebula are a whopping 317.5 light years closer. It seems to me that something got lost in translation in this story.
Well, just his Belt.
I dunno, the dimples on the “dome” look more like the Big Dipper to me...
(BTW, I assume your image was courtesy - U.S. Navel Observatory ;)
How convenient. So what is the margin of error now is it wide enough to support the "next" current theory?
The story is sufficiently incoherent that I don’t even know what the deal is with the supposed breakthrough.
Ew.
I keep reading this as “Onion gets a bit closer” and expect some parody article.
It could also be about the new moonshot booster project. :’)
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