B3
The World Around Us
Mountain Views News Saturday, November 9, 2013
1 IN 5 STARS HAVE EARTH-SIZE PLANET IN HABITABLE ZONE
Scientists from University of California, Berkeley, and University of
Hawaii, Manoa, have statistically determined that twenty percent of
Sun-like stars in our galaxy have Earth-size planets that could host
life. The findings, gleaned from data collected from NASA’s Kepler
spacecraft and the W. M. Keck Observatory, now satisfy Kepler’s
primary mission: to determine how many of the 100 billion stars
in our galaxy have potentially habitable planets. The results were
published November 4 in the journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
“What this means is, when you look up at the thousands of stars
in the night sky, the nearest sun-like star with an Earth-size planet
in its habitable zone is probably only 12 light years away and can
be seen with the naked eye. That is amazing,” said UC Berkeley
graduate student Erik Petigura, who led the team analyzing the
Kepler and Keck Observatory data.
The team, which also included planet hunter Geoffrey Marcy, UC
Berkeley professor of astronomy, cautioned that Earth-size planets
in Earth-size orbits are not necessarily hospitable to life, even if
they orbit in the habitable zone of a star where the temperature is
not too hot and not too cold.
“Some may have thick atmospheres, making it so hot at the surface
that DNA-like molecules would not survive. Others may have
rocky surfaces that could harbor liquid water suitable for living
organisms,” Marcy said. “We don’t know what range of planet types
and their environments are suitable for life.”
NASA launched the now crippled Kepler space telescope in 2009 to
look for planets that cross in front of, or transit, their stars, causing
a slight diminution—about one hundredth of one percent—in the
star’s brightness. From among the 150,000 stars photographed
every 30 minutes for four years, NASA’s Kepler team reported more
than 3,000 planet candidates. Many of these are much larger than
Earth—ranging from large planets with thick atmospheres, like
Neptune, to gas giants like Jupiter—or in orbits so close to their
stars that they are roasted.
To sort them out, Petigura and his colleagues are using the twin 10-meter telescopes of the Keck
Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, to obtain spectra of as many stars as possible.
This will help them determine each star’s true brightness and calculate the diameter of each transiting
planet, with an emphasis on Earth-size worlds.
The team focused on the 42,000 stars that are like the sun or slightly cooler and smaller, and found
603 candidate planets orbiting them. Only 10 of these were Earth-size, that is, one to two times the
diameter of Earth and orbiting their star at a distance where they are heated to lukewarm temperatures
suitable for life. The team’s definition of habitable is that a planet receives between four times and one-
quarter the amount of light that Earth receives from the sun.
“The primary goal of the Kepler mission was to answer the question, When you look up in the night
sky, what fraction of the stars that you see have Earth-size planets at lukewarm temperatures so that
water would not be frozen into ice or vaporized into steam, but remain a liquid—because liquid water
is now understood to be the prerequisite for life,” Marcy said. “Until now, no one knew exactly how
common potentially habitable planets were around Sun-like stars in the galaxy.”
You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com.
Credit: Petigura/UC Berkeley, Howard/UH-Manoa, Marcy/UC Berkeley
BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS
THINKING OF SHRINKING?
HOW TO SCHEDULE A FACEBOOK POST
If you have a Facebook page for your business, it’s important to keep the content
fresh. If you haven’t posted for over 6 months, people might assume you are
out of business. Posting 4-5 times a week can seem like a time consuming task.
The best way to keep up with content creation on Facebook is to schedule your
posts.
Think of your Facebook page as a weekly magazine for your business. The people who “Like” your
page are your publication subscribers. The content that is provided to the subscribers is distributed in
small amounts over time (one article or photo at a time, not all at once in one contained publication).
Take a look at your current posts on Facebook. If you were to put all your Facebook posts together,
would it make an interesting 12-page newsletter with a variety of helpful, informative, shareworthy
content and images?
Have a plan in place for your content. For example, your weekly Facebook schedule might look like
this (of course it will depend on the type of business you have):
• MONDAY: Behind the scenes photo of work in progress
• TUESDAY: Industry news share that your audience would find interesting
• WEDNESDAY: Show how your product or service is solving a problem
• THURSDAY: #throwbackthursday photo of a historical event in your business
• FRIDAY: Photos of your team doing something interesting
• SATURDAY: Ask an interesting open-ended question
• SUNDAY: Share a fun photo – ask for people to give it a caption
•
Facebook’s scheduling tool will allow you to schedule your posts. To schedule your posts, look for
the little clock in the lower left corner of the Facebook publisher. This will allow you to select the year,
the month, they day and the time.
Facebook’s new insights tool will give you information about the best time of day you should publish
your post.
One of the main benefits of scheduling your posts is that you can try out different times of day when
you are typically not on-line or at work. You might have an audience of Rock Stars that are active at
2am on a Friday night. You can still reach them while you are sound asleep by scheduling your posts!
About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that specializes in
Internet Marketing strategies and Social Media. They offer social media management services and
help their clients build a strong on-line presence. “Like” them on Facebook for trending news in
social media, internet marketing and other helpful tips, www.facebook.com/hutdogs.
Sign up for their upcoming classes and presentations at: www.hutdogs.com/workshops/schedule
It's not just the economy - there are lots of reasons that people choose to downsize. It could be retirement,
a recently emptied nest, or just plain "maintenance fatigue." Whatever the reason, plan your
new lifestyle carefully.
When you search for a smaller home, don't forget that Location is still the key ingredient. Even if
you don't have kids or they've flown the coop, a good school district and proximity to public transportation
and recreation are still the best bets for retaining value.
I f this will be a retirement move, think about the future and seek out homes on one level, or at the
very least, with the master bedroom on the ground floor. For practicality's sake, at least one bathroom
should be handicap-accessible or easily remodeled as such. Even if you don't think you'll need
it later on, your visitors might appreciate the convenience.
If downsizing to you means less maintenance, you may be tempted by town home or condominium
living, but be aware of "hidden costs," like annual or monthly homeowners association fees. Check
recent association meeting reports to see if there is a building renovation planned, as you could be hit
with an assessment fee in the future, too.
There are a lot of considerations in advance of your move, so ask an agent for more advice and enjoy
your new lifestyle!
BUSINESS TODAY
The latest on Business News, Trends and Techniques
By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA
PURCHASING NEW
ITEMS & PURGING
OLD ITEMS FOR GIFT
GIVING
With the holiday season at our doorsteps, it’s the
perfect time to finalize the annual list of gifts that
you plan to purchase, including year-end gifts
to a worthy cause or individuals who might be
encouraged by a generous show of support. Don’t
underestimate how appreciative someone may
be to receive a gift of something that is old and
outdated for you, yet may be welcomed by the
recipient as their new favorite thing. As long as
what you’re giving is in good working condition
and looks presentable, you will be surprised at
how useful your friend or neighbor may find it to
receive your old computer desk that you need to
discard because you’re replacing it or converting
your office into an exercise room.
Look first to determine things that you already
possess to give away and bring joy or benefit to
someone else. Next, think of some talent you
have or some service you could render to bring
a smile to someone’s face. Put on your thinking
cap and get creative with your ideas, then settle
on at least one thing that you can actually do
and at least one thing that you can actually
give to someone. Replacing your older Kindle?
Certainly one of the other individuals in your life
who loves to read might welcome it as a brand
new gadget to master. Other examples of gifts to
give, some old, some new, include:
• Next time you’re dining at one of your
favorite restaurants, purchase a gift certificate for
an amount at least equal to your tab on that visit,
then give it to someone in your life who’s never
been there. You can let them know that you
wanted one of your favorite people to be enjoy a
meal at one of your favorite restaurants.
• If you’re among the folks who still uses
elbow grease to was their own cars, surprise
your neighbor by taking your waterhose and
washcloth to theirs the next time they jokingly
say, “Hey, you washing mine next?”
• For those who don’t feel comfortable
reaching out to give used items or services to
individuals they know, perhaps a donation to a
local charitable cause will suffice.
Consider blessing yourself by being a blessing to
someone less fortunate during this festive season.
“It’s better to give than it is to receive” is a well-
known saying adopted from Acts 20:35 in the
Bible. Certainly, anyone who is in a position to
be able to contribute to someone else’s well-being
or advancement is in some ways better off than
those who must rely on others to provide the
necessities of life.
We can all brace ourselves for the onslaught of
promotional campaigns and advertisements that
will consume every available second of airtime
on broadcast media, and populate bandwidths
with the transmission of digital data to make it
easy for shoppers to browse, shop and click to
complete purchases through countless websites
and related media. We can also adopt a balanced
approach to decide on the new items that we wish
to purchase, as well as some of our old existing
items that we can purge from our environment to
become useful to someone else.
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