Gadget & Tech

For the first time astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described Tuesday as a big step in the search for life in the universe.

The planet is just the right size, might have water in liquid form, and in galactic terms is relatively nearby at 120 trillion miles away. But the star it closely orbits, known as a red dwarf, is much smaller, dimmer and cooler than our sun.

There’s still a lot that is unknown about the new planet, which could be deemed inhospitable to life once more is known about it. And it’s worth noting that scientists’ requirements for habitability count Mars in that category: a size similar to Earth’s with temperatures that would permit liquid water. This is the first outside our solar system that meets those standards.

“It’s a significant step on the way to finding possible life in the universe,” said University of Geneva astronomer Michel Mayor, one of 11 European scientists on the team that found the planet. “We still have a lot of questions.”

The results of the discovery have been submitted to the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Alan Boss, who works at the Carnegie Institution of Washington where a U.S. team of astronomers competed in the hunt for an Earth-like planet, called it “a major milestone.”

The planet was discovered by the European Southern Observatory’s telescope in La Silla, Chile, which has a special instrument that splits light to find wobbles in different wave lengths. Those wobbles can reveal the existence of other worlds.

What they found is a planet circling the red dwarf star, Gliese 581. Red dwarfs are low-energy, tiny stars that give off dim red light and last longer than stars like our sun. Until a few years ago, astronomers didn’t consider these stars as possible hosts of planets that might sustain life.

The discovery of the new planet, named 581 c, is sure to fuel studies of planets circling similar dim stars. About 80 percent of the stars near Earth are red dwarfs.

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The HDR-CX7, which is due to go on sale in June, records 1080i high-definition video directly to a MemoryStick Pro Duo card. Until now its camcorders have relied on MiniDV tape, DVD discs or hard-disk drives to store video, but the memory card slot and associated electronic take up less space and mean a smaller, lighter camera.

Using a memory card also means that getting video into a PC is as easy as removing the card from the camera and slotting it into a card reader. The video must still be copied to the PC’s hard-disk for viewing, but a software upgrade due mid-year will make it possible to watch video directly from high-speed Pro Duo- or Pro HG-type MemoryStick cards on both a PC and the PlayStation 3.

The flash memory-based recording also helps reduce power consumption and noise over other methods. But it doesn’t come without disadvantages. Memory cards are quite expensive, and users will be able to store only about 30 minutes of video on a 4G-byte card in the camera’s highest quality mode.

Behind the lens is a 3-megapixel image sensor, and the camera can also capture 6-megapixel still images, Sony said. Other features include a 10x optical zoom lens and a 2.7-inch wide-screen, touch-sensitive LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor.

The CX7 weighs 450 grams and measures 69 millimeters by 67mm by 129mm. It will cost about US$1,200 in the U.S.

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Gravity expert Professor Stephen Hawking said “Space, here I come” after he experienced weightlessness aboard a specially modified aircraft.

The renowned theoretical physicist, who is almost totally paralysed by motor neuron disease, left his wheelchair behind during the two-hour jet flight that gives passengers 25-second bursts of weightlessness by making parabolic plunges.

The jet – a modified Boeing 727 – made eight dives for Prof Hawking, his physicians and nurses and two dozen other passengers.

Prof Hawking, who is already making plans to go into space, said: “It was amazing. I could have gone on and on.”

Peter Diamandis, chairman of Zero Gravity Corp, the company that owns the jet, said during two of the plunges Prof Hawking made two flips like “a gold-medal gymnast”.

Mr Diamandis, who accompanied Prof Hawking on the flight, added: “We had a wonderful time. It was incredible, far beyond our expectations.”

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