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- Written by: Dr. Tony Phillips
An international team of astronomers using data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has made an unparalleled observation, detecting significant changes in the atmosphere of a planet located beyond our solar system.
The scientists conclude the atmospheric variations occurred in response to a powerful eruption on the planet’s host star, an event observed by NASA’s Swift satellite.
The stellar flare, which hit the planet like 3 million X-flares from our own sun, blasted material from the planet’s atmosphere at a rate of at least 1,000 tons per second.
“The multiwavelength coverage by Hubble and Swift has given us an unprecedented view of the interaction between a flare on an active star and the atmosphere of a giant planet,” said lead researcher Alain Lecavelier des Etangs at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics (IAP), part of the French National Scientific Research Center located at Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris.
The exoplanet is HD 189733b, a gas giant similar to Jupiter, but about 14 percent larger and more massive.
The planet circles its star at a distance of only three million miles, or about 30 times closer than Earth’s distance from the sun, and completes an orbit every 2.2 days.
Its star, named HD 189733A, is about 80 percent the size and mass of our sun.
Astronomers classify the planet as a “hot Jupiter.” Previous Hubble observations show that the planet’s deep atmosphere reaches a temperature of about 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit (1,030 C).
HD 189733b periodically passes across, or transits, its parent star, and these events give astronomers an opportunity to probe its atmosphere and environment.
In a previous study, a group led by Lecavelier des Etangs used Hubble to show that hydrogen gas was escaping from the planet’s upper atmosphere. The finding made HD 189733b only the second-known “evaporating” exoplanet at the time.
The system is just 63 light-years away, so close that its star can be seen with binoculars near the famous Dumbbell Nebula. This makes HD 189733b an ideal target for studying the processes that drive atmospheric escape.
“Astronomers have been debating the details of atmospheric evaporation for years, and studying HD 189733b is our best opportunity for understanding the process,” said Vincent Bourrier, a doctoral student at IAP and a team member on the new study.
In April 2010, the researchers observed a single transit using Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), but they detected no trace of the planet’s atmosphere.
Followup observations in September 2011 showed a surprising reversal, with striking evidence that a plume of gas was streaming away from the exoplanet at 300,000 mph. At least 1,000 tons of gas were leaving the planet’s atmosphere every second.
This turn of events was explained by data from Swift’s X-ray Telescope. On Sept. 7, 2011, just eight hours before Hubble was scheduled to observe the transit, Swift was monitoring the star when it unleashed a powerful flare.
“The planet’s close proximity to the star means it was struck by a blast of X-rays tens of thousands of times stronger than the Earth suffers even during an X-class solar flare, the strongest category,” said co-author Peter Wheatley, a physicist at the University of Warwick in England. After accounting for the planet’s enormous size, the team notes that HD 189733b encountered about 3 million times as many X-rays as Earth receives from a solar flare at the threshold of the X class.
These findings will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A vegetation fire broke out near the county landfill early Friday evening.
The fire, initially reported before 6 p.m., was located in the area of Davis Avenue near the Eastlake Landfill, according to reports from the scene.
Initial reports indicated that the fire had burned as much as seven acres.
Because the fire was located in the State Responsibility Area, Cal Fire took over incident command, with Lake County Fire Protection also working the fire.
Ground crews and Cal Fire air attacks and a helicopter worked on the fire, according to witnesses and radio traffic.
The fire was reported contained at 6:17 p.m., but mop up and overhaul were reported to be continuing.
Some Lake County Fire units remained on scene until after 11 p.m. and a Cal Fire engine was assigned to stay at the scene overnight, according to reports from the scene.
Information on the cause and the fire’s final acreage total were not immediately available from Cal Fire Friday evening.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Firefighters responded to a fire on Friday afternoon near Kelseyville that burned a small area of vegetation along with tires and debris.
The fire was reported at around 2:30 p.m. on Bell Hill Road near Adobe Creek Road.
Kelseyville Fire and Cal Fire responded to the incident, where grass and a large pile of tires and debris were reported to be burning next door to a vineyard, according to radio and witness reports.
Engines, water tenders and a Cal Fire helicopter that was used for water drops were among the resources sent to the scene, where about a half acre was reported to have burned, reports from the scene indicated.
Radio reports indicated “shaky containment” at 2:45 p.m., with the fire fully controlled shortly after 4 p.m.
Mop up was continuing on scene late Friday afternoon.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Northshore man was arrested early Thursday for allegedly abandoning six puppies last week.
Joseph Christian Rapp, 29, a handyman from Nice, was arrested for cruelty to animals and for abandoning the puppies, both of which are felonies, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s Deputy Mauricio Barreto arrested Rapp exactly one week after the six German Shorthaired Pointer mix puppies were found in the area of 4500 Hill Road by a Lake County Waste Solutions driver, according to sheriff’s and Animal Care and Control officials.
Brooks’ report said the driver had noticed the puppies inside a dog crate, sitting next to some residential garbage containers, on Thursday, June 28.
Barreto, who responded to the scene, found the puppies cold, emaciated and covered in feces, vomit and urine, as was the inside of the dog crate. Brooks said Barreto also noticed that one of the puppies appeared to be extremely sick and was unable to move.
The deputy took the puppies to Lake County Animal Care and Control, where Director Bill Davidson said they were tested for canine parvovirus, a disease that’s particularly deadly for puppies. Five of them tested positive for the disease.
Officials said the puppies – estimated to be about 3 months old – had been sick for an extended period of time and should have been taken to a veterinarian for treatment.
Davidson said one of the puppies died later on June 28, the healthy puppy was transferred to Lake County Animal Services for foster care and the other four remained at the shelter for treatment, under the supervision of the shelter’s director of veterinary services, Dr. Anthony Wong.
Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic donated fluids and other supplies to help the pups, and Lake County Animal Services provided funds to cover their care.
Davidson shared the story with Lake County News and other local media. After the articles appeared, “several very valuable tips were called in as to who the person that dumped the puppies might be,” he said Thursday.
That information was forwarded to Barreto, who had continued to pursue the case over the past week, Davidson said.
The leads Barreto received ultimately led him to Rapp, who several people had indicated was responsible for the crimes, Brooks said.
At 7 a.m. Thursday Barreto went to Rapp’s residence and contacted him, Brooks said.
During an interview with Barreto, Rapp allegedly admitted to dumping the puppies because they were sick, according to Brooks.
Brooks said Rapp told the deputy that he had planned on shooting the puppies, but he was unable to find anyone who would loan him a firearm.
Barreto arrested Rapp and took him to the Hill Road Correctional Facility, where Rapp was booked, with his bail set at $15,000. Jail records showed he remained in custody Thursday night.
A review of Lake County Superior Court records indicated Rapp had no previous local criminal cases.
Davidson said Kennel Coordinator Sara Schramm has diligently been watching the puppies every day, and on Tuesday they began eating and showing interest in food, which he said was “a very good sign.” They’ve also been moved in foster care.
However, Davidson said late Thursday afternoon one of the puppies took a turn for the worse and was taken to Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic for a blood transfusion.
“We’ll hope for the best,” he said.
Lake County Animal Services is holding an online fundraiser through ChipIn to help pay for the puppies’ expensive medical care.
The fundraiser is continuing until July 28 and can be found at http://lakecounty.chipin.com/parvo-pointer-pups .
As of Thursday evening, the fundraiser had brought in $755.
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