The atmosphere of the planet was scorched and eroded after the X-Ray flare of its neighbouring star. Picture: NASA Source: Supplied
Posted on 06/30/2012 1:48:01 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
SCIENTISTS have captured the moment a giant solar flare from a distant star scorched one of its orbiting planets, blasting the upper atmosphere away.
NASA's Swift Telescope detected a huge X-ray flare from the star 63 light years from Earth and then the Hubble recorded the pictures as it ripped into an orbiting gas giant known as "HD 189733b".
While the planet managed to survive the experience, scientists calculated it received three million times as many X-rays as Earth receives during a solar flare.
At least 900 tonnes of gas was ejected from the planet's atmosphere per second at a speed of more than 482,803km/h.
If this had happened on Earth our atmosphere would have been destroyed, leaving the planet a hardened husk of its former self, much like the planet Mercury.
Scientists say the affected planet still has gas to spare but by orbiting to close to its sun it risks being destroyed.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldsun.com.au ...
The atmosphere of the planet was scorched and eroded after the X-Ray flare of its neighbouring star. Picture: NASA Source: Supplied
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The upside is that no one on that planet will ever need to pass through a TSA scanner again.
a warning to other planets without universal health care
“extra, extra” ping.
Hubble, Swift detect first-ever changes in an exoplanet atmosphere
http://www.sciencecodex.com/hubble_swift_detect_firstever_changes_in_an_exoplanet_atmosphere-94216
http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&js=0&cf=all&ned=us&source=ig&ncl=dY5SjnMrwblhkIM
I guess that planet wasn’t paying enough taxes and had to be blasted.
Obi-Wan: That’s no moon. It’s a space station.
I sure hope it isn’t Romulus and Spock is again too late to stop the planet’s destruction.
How come the pictures are all cartoon? Where are the real data, real pictures?
Real global warming!
The data probably isn’t in photographic form.
Why, are you a *real* mountain lion?
Because of the real data, the artist’s conceptions are possible.
Mountainlion started as mountainlyons because I lived in the mountains above Lyons. I kept spelling it wrong so I changed it.
How the heck do they know 900 tonnes of the upper atmosphere got blasted away? and has the EPA been notified?
Well, if the star is 63 light-years away, this actually happened in the latter half of 1948 or the first half of 1949. Therefore it’s Harry Truman’s fault, not George W. Bush’s.
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