Second Lightest Planet Discovered

As a result of research conducted by MIT and various universities, an exoplanet named WASP-193 b has been identified. This planet resembles the structure of cotton candy and is very light for its size. The planet is approximately 50% larger than Jupiter, but due to its cotton candy-like large but low-density structure, it is much lighter in mass than Jupiter. The team, including researchers from MIT and the University of Liège in Belgium, notes that finding planets with such low density is rare. The lead author of the study, Khalid Barkoi, describes this planet as an extreme example of the “puffy Jupiter” class, posing a significant puzzle for astronomers. Located 1232 light-years away from Earth, the planet orbits a sun-like star. Its low density is attributed to a composition dominated by hydrogen and helium gases, similar to other gas giant planets. The planet’s atmosphere extends tens of thousands of kilometers beyond Jupiter’s atmosphere. More comprehensive studies are planned to further examine the planet’s characteristics. Julien de Wit, an assistant professor at MIT, stated: “The larger a planet’s atmosphere, the more light can pass through it. Therefore, it is clear that this planet is one of the best targets we have for studying atmospheric effects. It will be a Rosetta Stone in our attempt to unravel the mystery of puffy Jupiters.”

You can access the full study at the following link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-024-02259-y

Our Second Astronaut Tuva Cihangir Atasever Is Going to Space

Turkey’s second astronaut, Tuva Cihangir Atasever, will embark on a space journey on June 8th. During the 1.5-hour trip, seven scientific experiments will be conducted. The Minister of Industry and Technology, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, held a press conference with Alper Gezeravcı and Tuva Cihangir Atasever. In the press release, it was stated that the experiments would provide significant insights for scientists’ ongoing research. Mehmet Fatih Kacır expressed the following in his statement: “There has been no impediment to Alper Gezeravcı carrying out his mission. Gezeravcı successfully completed our first manned space science mission. This has allowed our second astronaut, Atasever, to conduct a suborbital research flight and gain space experience without incurring additional costs, as originally agreed upon in the project contracts. Thus, Atasever will become our second citizen to cross the boundary of space and contribute to scientific studies in a microgravity environment.”

Tuva Cihangir Atasever, noting that the earliest expected launch date is June 8th, gave a presentation about the features of the spacecraft and the stages of the journey, saying: “The launch will take place from Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport facility in New Mexico, USA. The spacecraft will carry a crew of six, including four mission specialists and two pilots. Our research flight with Virgin Galactic will be different from the one conducted by Alper with the Falcon 9 rocket. In his flight, they took off from the ground with a rocket. In my flight, the spacecraft will be carried to an altitude of approximately 45,000 feet, equivalent to 14 kilometers, by a carrier aircraft, a process known as ‘air launch.’ The goal here is to surpass the thick layers of the atmosphere, and at the 14-kilometer altitude, a separation operation will occur, igniting the rocket engine. The spacecraft quickly reaches a speed three times the speed of sound within a minute. It ascends to an altitude of 90 kilometers and performs a free fall. Once the rocket’s thrust ends, the microgravity conditions begin, and our spacecraft enters a free-fall phase. As it re-enters the atmosphere without any thrust system since it separates from the main carrier aircraft, it glides down to land. This glide phase is expected to be quite interesting and exciting. The spacecraft will land on the same runway from which it took off with the carrier aircraft. The total duration of this flight is expected to be 1.5 hours.”

Seven Different Experiments Will Be Conducted

During this flight, seven experiments will be carried out. Three of these will be continuations of the experiments that Alper Gezeravcı conducted on the ISS. Brief information about the planned experiments can be found in the visual below.

This Week In Our Art Corner

Star Trail Photography

Star trail photography captures the movement of stars in the night sky through long exposure techniques. This type of photography illustrates the trails that stars create in the sky due to the Earth’s rotation on its axis. As the Earth spins, stars appear to move across the sky. However, this phenomenon does not apply to the North Star. The North Star appears stationary in the sky because its rotational axis and speed are closely aligned with the Earth’s. Other stars seem to revolve around the North Star. Star trail photography utilizes this technique. By using long exposure on a camera, the movement of the stars can be photographed.

Basic equipment is sufficient for star trail photography. This includes a DSLR camera and a tripod. Additionally, a remote control can be optionally used to prevent vibrations. There are two techniques in star trail photography. The first involves taking long exposure shots to capture distinct star trails. The second method combines several short exposure shots into a single image.

Long Exposure

When shooting with long exposures, extra care must be taken to avoid camera movement. Any significant shake can jeopardize the quality of the shot. Furthermore, since more light hits the sensor during long exposure, noise reduction might be necessary during post-processing.

Short Exposures

In short exposures, hundreds of 30-second shots are taken. These shots are then stacked to create an image that displays the movement of the stars. By keeping the intervals between shots short, the structures of stars and star patterns in each image can be preserved.

Before leaving the camera to shoot, it is always beneficial to take test shots to ensure the effort is well-spent. Below are some photos taken and edited using this technique.