Astronomy

News story

Institution

Course

Professor

Date

News Story

Astronomy is considered active fields since new discoveries occur almost daily. This is because it is a wide field with very many areas still not studied, thus ensures that there is room for more discoveries. The most recent astronomical news is about the discovery of 55 Cancrie, which is a close exoplanet believed to be covered with diamond (Yale, 2012).

The composition of this planet is important to astronomy since it acts as a clear indication that the planet would not cease to exist for a very long period of time. This is because diamonds are composed of hard materials and they cannot be affected in any way with forces of nature like collisions.

The planet was first discovered in 2004. Based on its size, it was determined that it is twice the Earth’s diameter and eight times heaver, thus it was called a “super earth”. This was the first exoplanet that was observable via NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. This was a breath through in the astronomy field. Using information about the exoplanet’s size, orbital velocity and mass, scientists were able to determine what the planet was made of. The processes used were able to determine what the planet was made of providing a conclusive evidence of its constituents (Yale, 2012).

Within my field of study, this was an important discovery since new ways of establishing the constituents of a planet many light years away were realized. It is important to note that planetary composition is important in order to study planets and realizing what they are composed of is one of the difficult tasks to achieve.

In conclusion, astronomy is an important subject as humanity is able to learn and discover what exists beyond space. It is also important since it would also be able to provide information about planets that are habitable for humans.

References

Yale University (2012, October 11). Nearby super-Earth...