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PicSat
PicSat is a French observatory nanosatellite, designed to measure the transit of Beta Pictoris b, an exoplanet which orbits the star Beta Pictoris. PicSat was designed and built by a team of scientists led by Dr. Sylvestre Lacour, astrophysicist and instrumentalist at the High Angular Resolution in Astrophysics group in the LESIA laboratory with Paris Observatory, Paris Sciences et Lettres University and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). It was launched on January 12, 2018, and operated for more than 10 weeks before falling silent on 20 March 2018. Background Beta Pictoris system With an age of about 23 million years, Beta Pictoris is a very young star. Compared to the Sun, which is 4.5 billion years old, Beta Pictoris is about twice as large in mass and size. Beta Pictoris is relatively close to the Sun: just 63.4 light-years away, making it bright and easy to observe. This makes Beta Pictoris interesting for study as it allows astronomers to lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beta Pictoris B
Beta Pictoris b (abbreviated as β Pic b) is an exoplanet orbiting the young debris disk A-type main sequence star Beta Pictoris located approximately 63 light-years (19.4 parsecs, or km) away from Earth in the constellation of Pictor. It has a mass around 13 Jupiter masses and a radius around 46% larger than Jupiter's. It orbits at 9 AU from Beta Pictoris, which is about 3.5 times farther than the orbit of Beta Pictoris c. It orbits close to the plane of the debris disk orbiting the star, with a low eccentricity and a period of 20–21 years. Physical characteristics Mass, radius and temperature Beta Pictoris b is a super-Jupiter, an exoplanet that has a radius and mass greater than that of the planet Jupiter. It has a temperature of , most likely due to its dusty atmosphere and mass (normally it would be much colder). It has a mass of between 9 and 13 Jupiter masses (), and a radius of 1.46 . In 2018, a study directly measured the astrometric perturbation of Beta Picto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Observatory
A space telescope or space observatory is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. Suggested by Lyman Spitzer in 1946, the first operational telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, OAO-2 launched in 1968, and the Soviet Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope aboard space station Salyut 1 in 1971. Space telescopes avoid the filtering and distortion (scintillation) of electromagnetic radiation which they observe, and avoid light pollution which ground-based observatories encounter. They are divided into two types: Satellites which map the entire sky ( astronomical survey), and satellites which focus on selected astronomical objects or parts of the sky and beyond. Space telescopes are distinct from Earth imaging satellites, which point toward Earth for satellite imaging, applied for weather analysis, espionage, and other types of information gathering. History Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich Mädler in 1837 discussed the advan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minute
The minute is a unit of time usually equal to (the first sexagesimal fraction) of an hour, or 60 seconds. In the UTC time standard, a minute on rare occasions has 61 seconds, a consequence of leap seconds (there is a provision to insert a negative leap second, which would result in a 59-second minute, but this has never happened in more than 40 years under this system). Although not an SI unit, the minute is accepted for use with SI units. The SI symbol for ''minute'' or ''minutes'' is min (without a dot). The prime symbol is also sometimes used informally to denote minutes of time. History Al-Biruni first subdivided the hour sexagesimally into minutes, seconds, thirds and fourths in 1000 CE while discussing Jewish months. Historically, the word "minute" comes from the Latin ''pars minuta prima'', meaning "first small part". This division of the hour can be further refined with a "second small part" (Latin: ''pars minuta secunda''), and this is where the word "second" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne-Marie Lagrange
Anne-Marie Lagrange, born in the Rhône-Alpes region of France, is a French astrophysicist. Lagrange's work focuses on the research and study of extrasolar planetary systems. Lagrange is the holder of numerous scientific awards and honorary decorations, including Knight of the Legion of Honour (the highest French order of merit) and is a member of the French Academy of Sciences since 2013. Early life and education Anne-Marie Lagrange was born on 12 March 1962 in the Rhône-Alpes region where her father was employed at the French electric utility company, Électricité de France S.A. and a stay-at-home mother. When she was 5 years old, her father was transferred to Ain and the family moved to Ceyzérieu where Lagrange went to primary school. She attended college in Culoz, at the Lycée du Bugey in Belley. In high school, she was passionate about physics and mathematics and decided to study higher. On the advice of her teacher and the local Rotary Club, she went to Class ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gas Planet
A gas giant is a giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. Gas giants are also called failed stars because they contain the same basic elements as a star. Jupiter and Saturn are the gas giants of the Solar System. The term "gas giant" was originally synonymous with "giant planet". However, in the 1990s, it became known that Uranus and Neptune are really a distinct class of giant planets, being composed mainly of heavier volatile substances (which are referred to as "ices"). For this reason, Uranus and Neptune are now often classified in the separate category of ice giants. Jupiter and Saturn consist mostly of hydrogen and helium, with heavier elements making up between 3 and 13 percent of their mass.The Interior of Jupiter, Guillot et al., in ''Jupiter: The Planet, Satellites and Magnetosphere'', Bagenal et al., editors, Cambridge University Press, 2004 They are thought to consist of an outer layer of compressed molecular hydrogen surrounding a layer of liquid metallic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French National Centre For Scientific Research
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engineers and technical staff, and 7,085 contractual workers. It is headquartered in Paris and has administrative offices in Brussels, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, Washington, D.C., Bonn, Moscow, Tunis, Johannesburg, Santiago de Chile, Israel, and New Delhi. From 2009 to 2016, the CNRS was ranked No. 1 worldwide by the SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR), an international ranking of research-focused institutions, including universities, national research centers, and companies such as Facebook or Google. The CNRS ranked No. 2 between 2017 and 2021, then No. 3 in 2022 in the same SIR, after the Chinese Academy of Sciences and before universities such as Harvard University, MIT, or Stanf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris Sciences Et Lettres University
Paris Sciences et Lettres University (PSL University or simply PSL) is a public research university based in Paris, France. It was established in 2010 and formally created as a university in 2019. It is a collegiate university with 11 constituent schools, with the oldest founded in 1530. PSL is located in central Paris, with its main sites in the Latin Quarter, at the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève campus, at the Jourdan campus, at Porte Dauphine in northern Paris, and at Carré Richelieu. PSL awards Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD diplomas for its constituent schools and institutes. It offers an education based on research and interdisciplinary instruction, and its students have access to a broad range of disciplines in science, engineering, humanities, social sciences, fine art and performing arts. In 2022, PSL University was globally ranked 26th by the QS World University Rankings, 38th by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and 40th by the Times Higher Education Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris Observatory
The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Bank of the Seine in central Paris, but most of the staff work on a satellite campus in Meudon, a suburb southwest of Paris. The Paris Observatory was founded in 1667. Construction was completed by the early 1670s and coincided with a major push for increased science, and the founding of the Royal Academy of Sciences. King Louis XIV's minister of finance organized a "scientific powerhouse" to increase understanding of astronomy, maritime navigation, and science in general. Through the centuries the Paris Observatory has continued in support of astronomical activities, and in the 21st century connects multiple sites and organizations, supporting astronomy and science, past and present. Constitution Adminis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beta Pictoris
Beta Pictoris (abbreviated β Pictoris or β Pic) is the second brightest star in the constellation Pictor. It is located from the Solar System, and is 1.75 times as massive and 8.7 times as luminous as the Sun. The Beta Pictoris system is very young, only 20 to 26 million years old, although it is already in the main sequence stage of its evolution. Beta Pictoris is the title member of the Beta Pictoris moving group, an association of young stars which share the same motion through space and have the same age. The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has confirmed the presence of two planets, Beta Pictoris b, and Beta Pictoris c, through the use of direct imagery. Both planets are orbiting in the plane of the debris disk surrounding the star. Beta Pictoris c is currently the closest extrasolar planet to its star ever photographed: the observed separation is roughly the same as the distance between the asteroid belt and the Sun. Beta Pictoris shows an excess of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exoplanet
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, initially detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. There are many methods of detecting exoplanets. Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most, but these methods suffer from a clear observational bias favoring the detection of planets near the star; thus, 85% of the exoplanets detected are inside the tidal locking zone. In several cases, multiple planets have been observed around a star. About 1 in 5 Sun-like starsFor the purpose of this 1 in 5 statistic, "Sun-like" means G-type star. Data for Sun-like stars was not available so this statistic is an extrapolation from data about K-type stars. have an "Earth-sized"For the purpose of this 1 in 5 statistic, Earth-sized means 1–2 Earth radii. planet in the habitable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transit (astronomy)
In astronomy, a transit (or astronomical transit) is a phenomenon when a celestial body passes directly between a larger body and the observer. As viewed from a particular vantage point, the transiting body appears to move across the face of the larger body, covering a small portion of it. The word "transit" refers to cases where the nearer object appears smaller than the more distant object. Cases where the nearer object appears larger and completely hides the more distant object are known as ''occultations''. However, the probability of seeing a transiting planet is low because it is dependent on the alignment of the three objects in a nearly perfectly straight line. Many parameters of a planet and its parent star can be determined based on the transit. In the Solar System One example of a transit involves the motion of a planet between a terrestrial observer and the Sun. This can happen only with inferior planets, namely Mercury and Venus (see transit of Mercury ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Small Satellite
A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under . While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites can be built small to reduce the large economic cost of launch vehicles and the costs associated with construction. Miniature satellites, especially in large numbers, may be more useful than fewer, larger ones for some purposes – for example, gathering of scientific data and radio relay. Technical challenges in the construction of small satellites may include the lack of sufficient power storage or of room for a propulsion system. Rationales One rationale for miniaturizing satellites is to reduce the cost; heavier satellites require larger rockets with greater thrust that also have greater cost to finance. In contrast, smaller and lighter satellites require smaller and cheaper launch vehicles and can sometimes be launched in mult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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