Khagol Mandal

NASA's Swift satellite has recorded a gamma ray burst that had taken place at a distance of 12.8 billion light years from us. This is the farthest gamma ray burst ever recorded. Watching this event is something like rekindling the childhood memories. Because, the event happened 12.8 billion years ago i.e. when universe was only 825 million years old. (For an old man of 75, it is something that happened when he was only 5 years old.) This gamma ray burst has arisen from a merger of two early generation stars, each with a mass not less than four solar masses. The event occurred in the constellation of Eridanus. Actual burst lasted for 8 seconds.

Composite image of the burst as recorded by Swift satellite (left) and afterglow recorded by ESO telescope (right)

[Credit: NASA/ESO]

The faint afterglow of this event was followed by European Southern Observatory's ground based 2.2-meter optical telescope in Chile. 'Very Large Telescope', also located in Chile, recorded the spectrum of afterglow after one and half hour. Analysis of the spectrum showed it to have a red shift of 6.7. It means that it was 70 million light years farther from the earlier recorded most distant gamma ray burst.

Incredible planet...

There exist extra-solar planets, hot enough for the imaginary inhabitants on it to feel our Venus to be 'shiveringly' cold. One of such recently discovered hot planets has a surface temperature of 2250°C - temperature enough for lead to boil in our terrestrial atmosphere. It is the hottest planet discovered so far. Its temperature is higher than even some of the stars. However, the surprising fact for the planet is not its temperature, but its orbiting period and size. Firstly, its revolution around the parent star is exceptionally fast. Generally, exoplanets have orbiting periods of 3 days or more. This particular planet completes an orbit around the parent star only in 1.1 earth day, indicating that it is exceedingly close to the parent star. Its estimated distance from the parent star is only 0.02 A.U. i.e. eight times that between Earth and Moon. Secondly, it is extra-large in size. Its density suggests that it is gaseous in nature like our gas giants. But It is 1.8 times as large as Jupiter. Gas giants are not expected to be this much large. Huge size of the planet can probably be attributed to gases being puffed from it, due to the extreme heat radiated by the parent star.

Artist's concept of WASP-12b

[Credit: ESA/SuperWASP]

The planet was one of the ten planets which were recently discovered under the auspices of UK's leading extra-solar planet detection program (SuperWASP). Planet was detected from the light curve of the parent star. (When the planet passes over the disc of the parent star, the light output from the later is reduced.) While the parent star is designated as WASP-12, the planet is designated as WASP-12b. This system is residing at a distance of 870 light-years from us.

Sky Observation Programme

Written by Mahesh Naik

आकाशदर्शन (Sky Observation Programme)

दि. २९ नोव्हेंबर २००८ (शनिवार) चा कार्यक्रम रद्द करण्यात आला आहे

खगोल मंडळातर्फे आयोजित केला जाणारा आकाशदर्शनाचा पुढील कार्यक्रम खालील प्रमाणे आहे.

दिवस: दि. २९ नोव्हेंबर २००८ (शनिवार)
स्थळ: वांगणी

या कार्यक्रमास हजर राहू इच्छिणा-यांनी वांगणी रेल्वे स्थानकावर संध्याकाळी ६ वाजता जमावे. मंडळाचे कार्यकर्ते आपल्याला आकाशदर्शनाच्या ठिकाणी घेऊन जातील. कार्यक्रमास येताना रात्रीच्या जेवणाचा डबा, पाण्याची बाटली, चहासाठी पेला, बसण्यासाठी सतरंजी, गरम कपडे, छोटी विजेरी आपल्याबरोबर आणावी. हा कार्यक्रम मराठी तसेच इंग्रजी भाषेतून होईल. अधिक माहिती हवी असल्यास ९८६९६७२४४४ या दूरध्वनी क्रमांकावर संपर्क साधावा.

Our next Sky Observation Programme will be on Nov. 29, 2008 (Saturday). Reach Vangani station by 06.00 PM. Our volunteers will take you to the observation site. While coming for the programme, please bring your dinner tiffin, mug for tea, mat for seating on open ground, sweater, water bottle and a small torch. Programme will be in Marathi as well as in English.

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