If our solar system had a belt this dense, its dust would light up
the night skies as a brilliant band.caltech.
Narrated by actor, director and producer Robert Redford, the planetarium
show incorporates NASA satellite data, cutting-edge astrophysics research and
state-of-the-art supercomputing.org/cosmic

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.

photometric vulcain

Similarly, an unseen planet the size of Saturn
or smaller may be marshalling the star's rubble.
"The 'super comet' theory is more of a long shot," Beichman said, "but
we'll know soon enough.

extrasolar jpl

"
To confirm the dust detected by Spitzer is indeed ground-up asteroids, a
second less-likely theory will have to be ruled out.

transits transiting

The alien belt is also much closer to its star. Collisions are
commonplace in space and are understood as a key mechanism in the evolution of
the universe. Events
unfold over incredibly vast expanses, spanning billions of years and trillions
of miles.

oscillations usno

They are littered
with the rocky scraps of failed planets, which occasionally crash into each
other, kicking up plumes of dust. Our asteroid belt lies
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, whereas this one is located inside an
orbit equivalent to that of Venus. Only HD 69830 was found to possibly host an asteroid belt. George
Rieke, University of Arizona, Tucson, co-author of the paper. Science operations are
conducted at the Spitzer Science Center, at Caltech.amnh.

planets echelle

The star, called HD69830, is
located 41 light-years away from Earth.

NASA and New York City Museum Bring Universe Down to Earth

"Information compiled within this office not only helps us understand how
our planet's habitability are affected by cosmic events, but also provides
knowledge essential for future human and robotic exploration," said Richard
Fisher, director, Heliophysics Division.

The search for extrasolar planets is one of the most popular and rapidly developing topics in astronomy today.

exoplanets oscillations

seismically jpl

This hypothesis came about when the astronomers discovered the dust
around the star consists of small silicate crystals like those found in comet
Hale-Bopp .

exoplanet echelle

"Asteroids are the leftover building blocks of rocky planets like Earth,"
said Dr. According to the
astronomers, it is possible a giant comet, almost as big as Pluto, got knocked
into the inner solar system and is slowly boiling away, leaving a trail of
dust. NASA
scientists were involved in the production of the film providing technical and
scientific expertise.
The show recreates encounters usually invisible to humankind.

retrograde photometric

WASHINGTON, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has
spotted what may be the dusty spray of asteroids banging together in a belt
that orbits a star like our sun .
Yet, the two belts may have one important trait in common.
Programs in NASA's Heliophysics Division observe the complex phenomena
associated with space weather by studying and understanding the fundamental
physical processes of the space environment, from the sun to Earth, to other
planets , and beyond to the interstellar medium.

exoplanets extrasolar

NASA's Spitzer Telescope Sees Signs of Alien Asteroid Belt

Charles Beichman, California Institute of Technology (Caltech),
Pasadena, Calif.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission
for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington .

photometry steerable

WASHINGTON, The American Museum of Natural
History in New York City, in collaboration with NASA , debuts Cosmic Collisions
this week.
To perform the enormously complex calculations and render the scenes of
interstellar collisions, the space show's production team relied on an array
of graphic workstations, using hundreds of processors to create the graphic
images, and a state-of-the art system to view the high-resolution graphic
images on the Hayden planetarium dome.

astrometric astrometry

They did not see the asteroids themselves, but detected a thick disk of warm
dust confined to the inner portion of the star system.
"Because this belt has more asteroids than ours, collisions are larger and
more frequent, which is why Spitzer could detect the belt," said Dr.

Taking part in the 'hunt' means being involved in not only the discovery of strange new worlds, but also in finding the answer to one of humanity's most sought-after questions - are we alone in the universe?
This category aims to list websites that provide compelling information on the exciting search for small bodies orbiting other stars.

steerable vulcain

In our own solar system, asteroids have
collided with Earth, the moon and other planets . It is thicker than our asteroid belt, with 25 times as much
material. The mission, which will
detect planets as small as a few Earth masses, is scheduled to launch in 2011." Future observations of the star using Spitzer and
ground-based telescopes are expected to conclude whether asteroids or comets
are the source of the dust.edu/spitzer

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.
Cosmic Collisions presents a view of the universe different from our
everyday experience watching the peaceful night sky.

vulcain umbral

Beichman is lead author of a paper that will appear in the
Astrophysical Journal.nasa.

photometry vlt

Beichman and colleagues used Spitzer's infrared spectrograph to observe 85
sun-like stars.

lensing umbral

"We can't directly see other terrestrial planets, but
now we can study their dusty fossils," he added .
If confirmed, the new asteroid belt would be the first detected around a
star about the same age and size as our sun.
Cosmic Collisions highlights catastrophic planetary impacts and merging of
massive galaxies.

planets lensing

The discovery offers astronomers a rare
glimpse at a distant star system that resembles our home, and may represent a
significant step toward learning if and where other Earths form. The dust most likely
came from an asteroid belt in which dusty smash-ups occur relatively
frequently, about every 1,000 years. "Our present-day
solar system is a quieter place, with impacts of the scale that killed the
dinosaurs occurring only every 100 million years or so.spitzer.gov

The show also outlines the consequences of the sun's
magnetic variability and the incessant barrage of small ionized particles in
the solar wind ricocheting off Earth's magnetic field creating other worldly
conditions called "space weather".
For a short preview of Cosmic Collisions on the Web, visit:

http://www.

steerable umbral

One of NASA's future planet-hunting missions, SIM PlanetQuest, may
ultimately identify such a planet orbiting this star.
The Vision for Space Exploration is a bold new course into the cosmos, a
journey that will return the space shuttle safely to flight, complete the
construction of the International Space Station, take humans back to the moon
and eventually to Mars and beyond. They are the inevitable result of gravity pulling together
objects such as planets, stars, and galaxies, in constant motion through
space.

oscillations spectrograph

The newest planetarium dome show transports audiences through time
and space to view the evolving universe and witness galactic events that
changed the course of life on Earth.

vulcain astrometric

Asteroid belts are the junkyards of planetary systems. There are two other known distant
asteroid belts, but they circle younger, more massive stars. One of these crystals is the bright green-colored gem called
forsterite.
For artist's concepts and more information related to this release on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.gov/home

lensing astrometric

The division also provided
funding and scientific coordination for the show.

eddington photometry

While this new belt is the closest known match to our own, it is not a
perfect twin. Events also occur almost instantaneously on a subatomic scale as in
the collision of protons in the heart of the sun.

spectrograph vulcain

In our solar
system, Jupiter acts as an outer wall to the asteroid belt, shepherding its
debris into a series of bands.
"This show will provide audiences perspectives on the challenges of
exploring the universe beyond our planet, as we move forward with the
commitment to exploration and discovery in implementing America's Vision for
Space Exploration," said NASA's Chief of Strategic Communications Joe Davis.

exoplanets photometric

The show features breathtaking life-like
animation, images and dramatic recreations of interstellar events.