The Planetary Society is an American internationally-active non-governmental nonprofit organization. It is involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy for engineering projects related to astronomy, planetary science, and space exploration. It was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman, and has about 60,000 members from more than 100 countries around the world.
Édouard Jean-Marie Stephan was a French astronomer. His surname is sometimes spelled Stéphan in some literature, but this is apparently erroneous.
TW Hydrae is a T Tauri star approximately 196 light-years away in the constellation of Hydra. TW Hydrae is about 80% of the mass of the Sun, but is only about 5-10 million years old. The star appears to be accreting from a face-on protoplanetary disk of dust and gas, which has been resolved in images from the ALMA observatory. TW Hydrae is accompanied by about twenty other low-mass stars with similar ages and spatial motions, comprising the "TW Hydrae association" or TWA, one of the closest regions of recent "fossil" star-formation to the Sun.
Space.com is an online publication focused on space exploration, astronomy, skywatching and entertainment, with editorial teams based in the United States and United Kingdom. Launched on July 20, 1999, the website offers live coverage of space missions, astronomical discoveries and reviews about skywatching telescopes, binoculars and sci-fi entertainment gear.
Jeff Kanipe is an American science writer and author of astronomy books.
Pamela L. Gay is an American astronomer, educator, podcaster, and writer, best known for her work in astronomical podcasting and citizen science astronomy projects. She is a senior education and communication specialist and senior scientist for the Planetary Science Institute. Her research interests include analysis of astronomy data, as well as examination of the impact of citizen science initiatives. Gay has also appeared as herself in various television documentary series.
Astronomy Cast is an educational nonprofit podcast discussing various topics in the field of astronomy. The specific subject matter of each episode shifts from week to week, ranging from planets and stars to cosmology and mythbusting. Premiering on September 10, 2006, the weekly show is co-hosted by Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela L. Gay. Fraser Cain is the publisher of the space and astronomy news site Universe Today and has a YouTube channel with over 200,000 subscribers. The other host, Dr. Pamela L. Gay, is a Senior Education and Communication Specialist and Senior Scientist for the Planetary Science Institute and the director of CosmoQuest. Each show usually has a length of approximately 30 minutes, and all shows, past and present, are accessible for download through the Astronomy Cast archive, as well as in podcast format.
Arp 104, also known as Keenan's system, is entry 104 in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies catalog for spiral galaxy NGC 5216 and globular galaxy NGC 5218. The two galaxies are joined by a bridge of galactic material spanning 22 000 light years.
Kepler-1520 is a K-type main-sequence star located in the constellation Cygnus. The star is particularly important, as measurements taken by the Kepler spacecraft indicate that the variations in the star's light curve cover a range from about 0.2% to 1.3% of the star's light being blocked. This indicates that there may be a rapidly disintegrating planet, a prediction not yet conclusively confirmed, in orbit around the star, losing mass at a rate of 1 Earth mass every billion years. The planet itself is about 0.1 Earth masses, or just twice the mass of Mercury, and is expected to disintegrate in about 100-200 million years. The planet orbits its star in just 15.7 hours, at a distance only two stellar diameters away from the star's surface, and has an estimated effective temperature of about 2255 K. The orbital period of the planet is one of the shortest ever detected in the history of the extrasolar planet search. In 2016, the planet was confirmed as part of a data release by the Kepler spacecraft.
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
The Space Show is an Internet radio talk show about the development of outer space commerce and space tourism, and the issues impacting their development. It is also available archived online as a podcast. It airs 2 to 4 times per week, is hosted by Dr. David Livingston, and features live guest interviews with call-in and email questions from listeners.
NGC 2467, nicknamed the "Skull and Crossbones Nebula", is a star-forming region whose appearance has occasionally also been likened to that of a colorful mandrill. It includes areas where large clouds of hydrogen gas incubate new stars. This region was one of the areas featured in the book Hubble's Universe: Greatest Discoveries and Latest Images by Terence Dickinson.
Kepler-37c is an exoplanet discovered by the Kepler space telescope in February 2013. With an orbital period of 21 days, it is located 209 light-years away, in the constellation Lyra.
Kepler-37d is an exoplanet discovered by the Kepler space telescope in February 2013. It is located 209 light years away, in the constellation Lyra. With an orbital period of 39.8 days, it is the largest of the three known planets orbiting its parent star Kepler-37.
Emily Stewart Lakdawalla is an American planetary geologist and former Senior Editor of The Planetary Society, contributing as both a science writer and a blogger. She has also worked as a teacher and as an environmental consultant. She has performed research work in geology, Mars topography, and science communication and education. Lakdawalla is a science advocate on various social media platforms, interacting with space professionals and enthusiasts on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. She has appeared on such media outlets as NPR, BBC and BBC America.
Kepler-90f is an exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-90, located in the constellation Draco. It was discovered by the Kepler telescope in October 2013. It orbits its parent star at only 0.48 astronomical units away, and at its distance it completes an orbit once every 124.91 days.
Kepler-90e is an exoplanet orbiting the star Kepler-90, located in the constellation Draco. It was discovered by the Kepler telescope in October 2013. It orbits its parent star at only 0.42 astronomical units away, and at its distance it completes an orbit once every 91.94 days.
Robert P. King, born August 9, 1953, is an American photographer, writer, and an amateur astronomer. He publishes an astronomy blog called Astro Bob which is "widely read and respected" according to astronomer Bob Mizon.
