Bastian227 - Slashdot User

Submission + - Astronomers Search for Earth-Like Planet Next Door (blogspot.com) 1

Submitted by

Adam Korbitz

on Thursday January 22, 2009 @02:13AM

Adam Korbitz writes: "Back in March I posted about a team of researchers at the University of California-Santa Cruz who have proposed a computer model that predicts Alpha Centauri -- the star closest to our own Sun — may harbor at least one Earth-like terrestrial planet orbiting within the habitable zone of one of the system's component stars. Astronomers hope they may be able to detect such planets, if they exist, in the relatively near future using the well-established radial velocity method that measures the wobble caused by planets as they orbit their host stars.
The hunt for that Earth-like planet around Alpha Centauri B is now underway in Chile.
According to the NASA/JPL website Planet Quest:
At a little over four light years from Earth, the sunlike star Alpha Centauri B — actually a member of a three-star system — is our sun's closest neighbor and practically a stone's throw away in celestial terms.
[The] planet-hunting team is using a telescope in Chile to keep an eye on the star for the next three years, in order to collect enough data to determine whether or not the next Earthlike planet lies next door.

Such a planet would be too small to see, but its gravity will pull on its host star, making it rock back and forth in a way that the telescope can detect. With NASA funding, they're also working on simulations that may be able to predict how a solar system could have formed around our cosmic neighbor.

I wish them success. Other searches for a planet around the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, have so far yielded nothing — but the quest continues.
You can read the full Planet Quest article here.
"

Submission + - Steve Jobs Takes Medical Leave

Submitted by

Bastian227

on Wednesday January 14, 2009 @06:37PM

Bastian227 writes: "A quick word on NPR and a letter from Steve Jobs on Apple's website indicates that Jobs will 'take a medical leave of absence until the end of June'. He also states, 'During the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought'. Tim Cook will be responsible for daily operations, though Jobs will remain involved with major strategic decisions."

Comment Privacy vs. Open Records (Score 1) 485

by Bastian227 on Saturday October 11, 2008 @07:02AM (#25338217) Attached to: Choosing a Replacement Email System For a University?

There is an assumption of privacy at universities; however, the university I worked for was subject to the public's open records requests. When requested, our IT department had to hand over the email of any employee (maybe student?). I believe this is a federal law (in the US).

Expanding on that concern, I wonder if online services allow IT departments to perform what is necessary for open records requests, or would that be a violation of TOS?

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