Diamond Planet Discovered In Ophiuchus/Serpens

[Tenet Nosce]

The image of a man grasping a serpent reminded me of this:

West Woodhay Down, Nr Inkpen, Wiltshire.
Reported 29th July.

UPDATED

05/09/2011

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(Quotes taken from Wikipedia (17 Sep 11):

The brightest stars in Ophiuchus include α Ophiuchi, called Rasalhague (at the figure's head), and η Ophiuchi.

I wonder to know more details about those brightest stars!

RS Ophiuchi is part of a class called recurrent novae, whose brightness increase at irregular intervals by hundreds of times in a period of just a few days. It is thought to be at the brink of becoming a type-1a supernova.[2]

On the brink of becoming a supernova?!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiuchus#cite_note-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiuchus#cite_note-1
Barnard's Star, one of the nearest stars to the Solar System (the only stars closer are the Alpha Centauri binary star system and Proxima Centauri), lies in Ophiuchus. (It is located to the left of β and just north of the V-shaped group of stars in an area that was once occupied by the now-obsolete constellation of Taurus Poniatovii (Poniatowski's Bull).

I had forgotten about Barnard's Star! Did once write a story about Proxima Centauri as a kid though.

In 2005, astronomers using data from the Green Bank Telescope discovered a superbubble so large that it extends beyond the plane of the galaxy.[3] It is called the Ophiuchus Superbubble.

What is a supperbubble? It extends beyond the plane of the galaxy?!

Superbubble is the astronomical term used to describe a cavity hundreds of light years across filled with 106 K gas blown into the interstellar medium by multiple supernovae and stellar winds. The solar system lies near the center of an old superbubble, known as the Local Bubble, whose boundaries can be traced by a sudden rise in dust extinction of stars at distances greater than a few hundred light years.

What?! We just "happen" to be in the center of an old one?! It is a cosmic vesica piscis!

The strongest stellar winds release kinetic energy of 1051 ergs (1044 J) over the lifetime of a star, which is equivalent to a supernova explosion. These winds can form stellar wind bubbles dozens of light years across.[2] Inside OB associations, the stars are close enough that their wind bubbles merge together, forming a giant bubble called a superbubble. When stars die, supernova explosions, similarly, drive blast waves that can reach even larger sizes, with expansion velocities up to several hundred km s-1. Stars in OB associations are not gravitationally bound, but they drift apart at small speeds (of around 20 km s-1), and they exhaust their fuel rapidly (after a few millions of years). As a result, most of their supernova explosions occur within the cavity formed by the stellar wind bubbles[3][4]. These explosions never form a visible supernova remnant, but instead expend their energy in the hot interior as sound waves. Both stellar winds and stellar explosions thus power the expansion of the superbubble in the interstellar medium.

Did this just say when O stars mate with B stars they make superbubbles and then are no longer gravitationally bound?!

In April 2007, astronomers announced that the Swedish-built Odin satellite had made the first detection of clouds of molecular oxygen in space, following observations in the constellation Ophiuchus.[4]

Funny I missed that. Interestingly, I DID catch recently that scientist discovered oxygen in Orion:

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2011) — The European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory has found molecules of oxygen in a nearby star-forming cloud. This is the first undisputed detection of oxygen molecules in space. It concludes a long search but also leaves questions unanswered.

Hrmm... the first "undisputed" detection. Another mystery I suppose...

The supernova of 1604 was first observed on October 9, 1604, near θ Ophiuchi. Johannes Kepler saw it first on October 16 and studied it so extensively that the supernova was subsequently called Kepler's Supernova. He published his findings in a book titled De stella nova in pede Serpentarii (On the New Star in Ophiuchus' Foot). Galileo used its brief appearance to counter the Aristotelian dogma that the heavens are changeless.

I didn't realize it had already made history!

In approximately 40,000 years Voyager 1 probe will pass within 1.6 light years of the star AC+79 3888, which is located in Ophiuchus.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiuchus#cite_note-4

That seems like a long time from now. Almost 2 earth cycles...

In 2009 it was announced that GJ 1214, a star in Ophiuchus, undergoes repeated, cyclical dimming with a period of about 1.5 days consistent with the transit of a small orbiting planet.[6] The planet's low density (about 40% that of Earth) suggests that the planet may have a substantial component of low-density gas -- possibly hydrogen or steam.[7] The proximity of this star to Earth (42 light years) makes it a tempting target for further astronomic observations.

Mmm... tempting...

In April 2010, the naked-eye star ζ Ophiuchi was occulted by 824 Anastasia.

April 2010. I can't recall. Anything significant happen then?

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Wow... look at the way they depicted it! With that serpent-like energy going right through the center!



The pulsar at the centre of the below image is orbited by an object that is about the mass of Jupiter and composed primarily of carbon; effectively a massive diamond. The orbit, represented by the dashed line, would easily fit inside our Sun, represented by the yellow surface. The blue lines represent the radio signal from the pulsar, which spins around 175 times every second. (Credit: Swinburne Astronomy Productions)