Two potentially habitable planets discovered near the star Tau Ceti
Tau Ceti - one of the stars closest to us - continues to attract the attention of earthlings. “On Tau Kita they live in beauty, they live, by the way, in different ways, our comrades in mind” - Vladimir Vysotsky sang in the 60s of the last century. In 2013, astronomers from a large international group supported him for the first time, announcing the existence of several planets here. They were designated by letters - b, c, d, e, f.
The discovery was preceded by thousands of observations. Including with the help of optical telescopes. The NASA Kepler orbiting telescope and the so-called High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) were used.
Kepler searches for exoplanets - planets outside the solar system - through the so-called transit method. That is, it monitors whether the brightness of the star changes from time to time. And it changes when planets pass along the disk of the star. Astronomers determine the presence of planets by fluctuations in brightness.
“In response, they blinked with something,” Vladimir Vysotsky, again prophetically explained the essence of the transit method.
The HARPS spectrograph at the European Southern Observatory in Chile searches for planets by detecting anomalies in the motion of stars. If a star has satellites, then, revolving around, they affect it - make it oscillate, changing its speed. And these vibrations are fixed by the seeker. The accuracy achieved today makes it possible to detect planets smaller than the Earth - HARPS reacts to changes in the speed of a star by 30 centimeters per second.
Over the past four years, it has been possible to collect new data and clarify the previous ones. Scientists, led by Dr. Fabo Feng of the University of Hertfordshire, have verified that the Tau Ceti planets do exist. But it seems that there are not 5, but four.
The existence of the planets designated b, c and d has not been confirmed. There were planets e and f, and besides them - also g and h. Planets g and h are slightly heavier than Earth, but they are not of great interest - in the sense of searching for extraterrestrial life. It's very hot on them - hotter than on our Mercury. But e and f fall into the so-called habitable zone. The Tau Ceti star provides these planets with quite comfortable conditions. Water on them can be in liquid form. That is, to contribute to the birth and maintenance of life.
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Four years ago, scientists considered planets e and f to be gas giants. But now they came to the conclusion that they are rocky. That is, they are similar to the Earth, only larger and about 4 times heavier. "Super Earths" - that's how they are called.
The climate of planet f is most likely similar to the Martian climate - it can be cool there, especially in high latitudes. It is warmer on the planet, conditions, perhaps even resort - such as once existed on Venus before it was destroyed by catastrophic volcanic eruptions.
Comparison of our system with the Tau Ceti system: in many ways they are similar
The star Tau Ceti is similar to our Sun, the same class G star, but about 55 percent less powerful. Therefore, it is unlikely to overheat its third planet - that is, it gets more heat than the Earth - also the third planet from the luminary, but less than Venus - the second in the solar system.
The similarity of the two stars has long worried astronomers - especially those looking for brothers in mind. In the 60s of the last century, Tau Ceti became the first towards which a radio telescope was directed in the hope of picking up signals from an extraterrestrial civilization. The legendary Frank Drake suggested. Vladimir Vysotsky found out about this and responded with an appropriate song. Confused a little, calling Tau Ceti a constellation.
Tau Ceti is only 12 light-years away, a distance far from insane. Someday we can get there, "moving along the light beam without help, but with the help of", as Vladimir Semenovich suggested. Then we will clarify whether there is an atmosphere there, whether it is stuffy and how the “Taukitai brethren” are doing - whether they are crazy according to our notions.
BTW
We see them, and they see us
Tau Ceti is perfectly visible even with the naked eye. She appears as a star of the third magnitude in the constellation Cetus. Our Sun will look approximately the same from the orbit of planet E. The Taukitians can observe it in the constellation Bootes.
Tau Ceti is visible to the naked eye
Prophetic song of Vladimir Vysotsky
In the distant constellation Tau Ceti - V. Vysotsky
In the distant constellation Tau Ceti
Everything became incomprehensible to us.
We send a signal: "What are you doing there?"
And they send us back.
On Tau Kit they live in beauty, They live, by the way, in different ways, Our comrades in mind.
Here, moving along the beam of light, Without help, but through, I'm flying to this Tau Ceti, To deal with her on the spot.
On Tau Kita
Something is wrong
There are Taukai brethren
Crazy, according to our concepts.
While I'm in suspended animation, Those Taukity are rowdy
Less and less often I get in touch with them, Very much they are hooligans!
Taukits
In the alphabet of words
A little, and the system is bourgeois.
And their humor is ugly.
I planted the ship like my own backside, By slightly curving the reflector.
I shouted in Taukinese: "Vivat!"
What does it mean in their language "Hello".
Taukityans
All appearances are deception
Here you cannot compete with them-
They will appear, then they will dissolve.
A Taukitian to me - what a Papuan to you.
I was briefly hinted about them.
I shouted: "The galaxy is ashamed of you!"
In response, they blinked something.
On Tau Kit
The conditions are not the same
There's no atmosphere here, it's stuffy here
But the Taukitians are welcoming.
In the heat of the moment, I shouted to them: "Your mother, they say!"
But the cyber guide is mine
He translated me so literally, That I felt ashamed of myself.
But taukits
Such brutes
Probably managed to type:
They will appear, then they will dissolve.
We are brothers on the floor, - I shout, - men!
But then my voice broke.
I grabbed the Taukity woman by the breasts:
Well - I say - confess!
She told me: - go away, she says, Like, we are ahead, he says
I don't want to know with men
And now we will bud.
I don't remember how I lifted my starship
I am flying in the mood and drinking.
The earth has gone three hundred years ahead,
According to Einstein's vile theory.
What if and there
Like Tau Ceti, Has knowledge increased horribly?
What if budding is there too?
VLADIMIR LAGOVSKY