When it comes to habitability for Earth-like life, we’ve got more than just liquid water to worry about. Today’s astrobite looks at how planets could lose portions of their atmospheres to quasar radiation.
Techniques in astrostatistics help astronomers characterize large amounts of data. The authors of today’s astrobite use data-driven astrostatistics to distinguish between populations of hot Jupiters in a sample. It’s a technique that can definitely be put to good use over the next few decades, as oodles of observations pour in from the new telescopes of the 21st century.
Characterizing planets through direct imaging is no easy task! But today’s authors offer a work-around formula, which estimates the crucial parameter of planetary mass from protoplanetary disk observations. In this astrobite, we discuss ‘The Theory’ and ‘The Practice’ of their cool equation.
Astronomers have found hydrogen contamination in the atmospheres of helium white dwarfs – but where in the world/universe is it coming from?! The authors of today’s astrobite perform statistical tests to see if the source of this pesky hydrogen could be water-bearing rocky bodies out in space.
Academia isn’t the only future open to an astronomy degree. In this ‘beyond’ post, we discuss the universally-useful skills you can hone as a student, and then explore a variety of non-academic jobs where you can put those skills to good use.