Amateur Astronomers Spot One in a Billion Star - http://clapway.com/2015/07/17/amateur-astronomers-spot-one-in-a-billion-star423/

Gaia Satellite Used To Find Rare Star

It’s rare for amateur astronomers to find something substantial, unless of course they have the tools for it. A tool like, say, the Gaia satellite at the European Space Agency. That same satellite noticed something interesting back in August of 2014. Over the course of one single day, a star became five times brighter, noticeable enough to be picked up by the satellite. From there, researchers, along with some amateur astronomers, took time to study the satellite’s findings, and were shocked at what they discovered. They had discovered a rarity, a one in a billion star. The one in a billion star was not only an astonishing find for the astronomers, but an exciting discovery that can teach scientists more about stars and how they work.

The One in a Billion Star is actually two stars

What made this star so astonishing and so rare? Well, this one in a billion star, which has been named Gaia14aae, is actually a two-star system. One of these stars is a white dwarf. The other is its companion star. The white dwarf of this combination one in a billion star is actually stealing gas from the companion star. In a sense, the white dwarf is eating the other star, which is larger than it. The size difference is actually quite substantial; the white dwarf is similar in size to Earth; the companion star is 125 times the size of our sun!

Because of this size difference, there was plenty of gas in the companion star for the white dwarf to essentially cannibalize it. This is what caused the satellite to notice the one in a billion star – eating its companion is what caused the white dwarf to become so much brighter. It has also made the white dwarf so dense that a mere teaspoon of its material would weigh as much as your average elephant. This has turned the two stars into a binary system, combining into a one in a billion star.

Researchers Can Use This Star To Learn More

Researchers are extremely excited at what this one in a billion star has to offer them. It allows them to understand other bright explosions in the universe, and their bizarre codependency means that researchers can measure their sizes and masses with greater accuracy. It’s another victory for researchers using the Gaia satellite.

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Amateur Astronomers Spot One in a Billion Star

A chameleon satellite we"ll soon be launching into space! - http://clapway.com/2015/07/13/esa-engineers-design-completely-new-transforming-satellite-546/

Now, engineers from the European Space Agency (ESA) have designed a transforming satellite that doesn’t have to return to this planet to have alterations made. It can literally transform itself to make necessary changes from all the way up in outer space! This is revolutionary because of the huge problem with launching things like satellites into space: Getting them back down to Earth to do literally any work on them is nearly impossible. Once they are out in space, if any changes need to be made to the satellite–or its function needs to be repurposed–the satellite essentially becomes useless, and a new satellite must be sent in its place.

The dawn of a more flexible transforming satellite system

Customizable satellites up until this point have served a single–or only a few–purposes up in space, eventually requiring a new satellite to be launched when there is a desire to change the tasks to something new. Much of the time, the old satellite is left in space creating a very serious condition where space debris is orbiting earth in alarming numbers.

According to NASA, there are currently 500,000 pieces of major space debris being tracked travelling at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour orbiting the Earth currently. A transforming satellite that can be repurposed will cut down on the number of space debris orbiting the planet.

A bright and less expensive new future in transforming satellite technology

There are numerous reasons that the ESA team decided to finally design a more practical version of the satellite. The first being the cost according to the ESA website, “The satellites developed under the Quantum umbrella will be cheaper and quicker to build compared to current methods by using generic subsystems and equipment, enabling larger-scale production and more efficient control of stock.”

The use of systems that can be easily transformed requires parts that are more generic, which actually lowers the cost of building each one of these satellites. It’s hard to overstate the importance of this project according to François Auque, Head of Airbus DS Space Systems, “Quantum is the first satellite that can be fully reconfigured in orbit. In other words, Eutelsat will be able to modify parameters such as frequencies, footprints and the distribution of the satellite’s allocated power, even after its launch.”

These new satellites will revolutionize the way we manage satellites in orbit, and benefit every person in the world.

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ESA Engineers Design Completely New Transforming Satellite