Universe Today - June 5, 2001

the
U N I V E R S E
T O D A Y

Space Exploration News From Around the Internet
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June 5, 2001 - Issue #441
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-- UNIVERSE TODAY STORY SUMMARY --

* First Signature of Extrasolar Asteroid Belt
* Artificial Intelligence Satellites on the Drawing Board
* Planet Formation Might Be Rare


FIRST SIGNATURE OF EXTRASOLAR ASTEROID BELT
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Our asteroid belt is not alone. While disks of dust are known to exist at ranges comparable to our Kuiper Belt, until now scientists have never found an analogue to the belt of minor planets between Mars and Jupiter. On Monday, two researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles released their findings here at the 198th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Read the article
http://www.universetoday.com/html/articles/2001-0605a.html


ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SATELLITES ON THE DRAWING BOARD
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NASA announced recently that a new set of satellites planned for launch in 2002 will be able to make complex decisions without human intervention. The three satellites, known collectively as the Three Corner Sat mission, will fly in a close formation and will be capable of dealing with unexpected problems in space, including solar storms and equipment failures.

Internet Coverage:

http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/06/04/casper/index.html

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PLANET FORMATION MIGHT BE RARE
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New observations from the Hubble Space Telescope have shown that the vast majority of young planets that form in the universe are likely torn apart by their own radioactive environment. Young stars are usually created in stellar nurseries, which harbour many type O and B stars that emit massive amounts of blowtorch-like radiation. Planets forming around any star in this kind of a nursery are blown apart early in their formation. Only stars that form in an area shielded from radiation have a chance for planets.

Internet Coverage:

http://www.astronomy.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/000/497ysisu.asp
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=5050

Similar Stories:
http://www.universetoday.com/html/topics/extrasolar.html

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