Date: 7/11/2021 19:59:00
From: mollwollfumble
ID: 1813431
Subject: Chandra finds exoplanet in Whirlpool Galaxy

26 Oct 2021 so we may have discussed this before.

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/images/chandra-sees-evidence-for-possible-planet-in-another-galaxy.html

“Signs of a planet transiting a star outside of the Milky Way galaxy may have been detected for the first time. This intriguing result, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, opens up a new window to search for exoplanets at greater distances than ever before. The possible exoplanet candidate is located in the spiral galaxy Messier 51 (M51), also called the Whirlpool Galaxy because of its distinctive profile.”

“Di Stefano and her colleagues looked for X-ray transits in three galaxies beyond the Milky Way galaxy, using both Chandra and the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton. Their search covered 55 systems in M51, 64 systems in Messier 101 (the “Pinwheel” galaxy), and 119 systems in Messier 104 (the “Sombrero” galaxy), resulting in the single exoplanet candidate described here.”

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Date: 7/11/2021 20:20:07
From: sibeen
ID: 1813432
Subject: re: Chandra finds exoplanet in Whirlpool Galaxy

It’s great engineering but not particularly surprising science.

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Date: 9/11/2021 10:56:37
From: mollwollfumble
ID: 1813957
Subject: re: Chandra finds exoplanet in Whirlpool Galaxy

sibeen said:


It’s great engineering but not particularly surprising science.

Complete the sentence “science advances … “

I used to say “science advances in direct proportion to PhDs published”

Now I tend to say “science advances through the construction of better scientific equipment”. ie through engineering.

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