Oct 16 - Seeing Inside Exoplanets

October 16 Seeing Inside Exoplanets by:

Astronomers in France this month announced a new radio telescope, tuned to search for beam-like radio signals whipped up when a planet's magnetic field interacts with the wind-charged particles coming from its star. Image via Science Magazine.

New telescope to 'see inside' hot Jupiter exoplanets Exoplanets - worlds orbiting distant suns - are very, very far away. Astronomers are learning what some of their surfaces might look like, and what's in their atmospheres. Soon - for the first time - a new telescope will be able to "see inside" some exoplanets. This new telescope - the NenuFAR telescope, now being built in France - will study some of these exotic worlds' magnetic fields. An active magnetic field would point to a planet having a magnetic dynamo deep inside it: a churning, liquid metallic core. Read more. Researchers investigate dramatic melt of glaciers in Peru Glaciers are melting in many places on Earth today. But glacier loss in the Peruvian Andes is happening particularly rapidly. New research reports a reduction of almost 30% between 2000 and 2016. Read more. All you need to know: Orionid meteor shower Have you seen any meteors streaking across the sky this month? If they are coming from the northern sky, they might have been Draconids, whose peak has passed. If they're coming from along the ecliptic, or sun's path across our sky, they might be part of the long-lasting Taurid meteor shower, which is still going on. But some meteors you've seen could also be part of the annual Orionid meteor shower, which is now building to its peak this weekend, albeit in bright moonlight, on the mornings of October 21 or 22. Read more.

EarthSky lunar calendars are back in stock We're guaranteed to sell out, get one while you can! Your support means the world to us and allows us to keep going. Purchase here.

UFO cloud It looks a lot like a UFO ... but it's what’s called a lenticular cloud. These lens-shaped clouds typically form where stable, moist air flows over a mountain, and they can appear and disappear quickly. Karen Racette captured this one floating over Butte, Montana, on October 7. More photos of lenticular clouds, plus a word about how they form.

Bright star Deneb transits at nightfall In mid-October each year, the northernmost star of the Summer Triangle, Deneb, transits or climbs to its highest point in the sky. Read more.  Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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