Tag Archives: oceania

Doomed exoplanet to be obliterated as it spirals into dying star

2022-12-20 FreeNews

Astronomers have come across an exoplanet with a gloomy future, spiralling closer to its host star until eventually it will be obliterated.

The exoplanet, called Kepler-1658b, was identified in 2019, a decade after the Kepler Space Telescope discovered it as a planet candidate.

The planet is considered to be a "hot Jupiter," or a type of exoplanet similar in size to Jupiter — but scorching in temperature. Kepler-1658b closely orbits its ageing star, completing a single orbit every 3.85 days.

But the orbit is decaying, causing the planet to move incrementally closer to its star. Eventually, this movement will lead to a collision and the planet's obliteration. The Astrophysical Journal Letters published a study detailing the findings on Monday.

"We've previously detected evidence for exoplanets inspiralling toward their stars, but we have never before seen such a planet around an evolved star," lead study author Shreyas Vissapragada said in a statement.

"Theory predicts that evolved stars are very effective at sapping energy from their planets' orbits, and now we can test those theories with observations."

After years of observations with both space and ground-based telescopes, researchers calculated that the planet's orbit is decreasing at a rate of 131 milliseconds per year. The telescopes watched for dips in brightness of the star as the planet passed in front of it. The intervals between these dips, called transits, have steadily decreased as the orbit has decayed.

The role of gravitational pull

Tidal interactions, or the gravitational relationship between Kepler-1658b and its star, are to blame for the planet's inward draw. Astronomers are still learning about the gravitational interactions between orbiting bodies, such as Earth and the moon, but this planetary system could shed light on such dynamics.

The new research also helped researchers potentially explain why Kepler-1658b seems even hotter and brighter than expected. The same gravitational tug between the planet and its star may also be releasing extra energy from the planet.

"What we realised during this study is that the planet could be bright because it's much hotter than previously anticipated, which could happen if the same effects driving the decay of the planet's orbit are also heating it up," Vissapragada said in an email.

"I'm excited to study this possibility further: are we witnessing the last breath of a condemned planet?"

It's not unlike Jupiter's moon Io, the most volcanic place in our solar system. Jupiter's strong gravitational influence is melting Io's interior, causing lava to erupt from hundreds of volcanoes on this moon's surface. The Juno mission will conduct multiple flybys of Io in the next year and a half to learn more about this volatile relationship.

Observing other exoplanets at risk

Meanwhile, the ageing star that Kepler-1658b orbits is expanding and entering its subgiant phase before becoming a red giant, a dying star in the final stages of life.

The findings could potentially preview the fate of planets in our own solar system that may one day find themselves too close to the sun.

"In five billion years or so, the sun will evolve into a red giant star," Vissapragada said.

"It seems certain that Mercury and Venus will be engulfed during this process, but what happens to the Earth is less clear."

The discovery of a distant Jupiter-like planet orbiting a dead star reveals what may happen in our solar system when the sun dies in about 5 billion years, according to new research. This artist's rendering shows a star experiencing the red giant phase when it burns the last of its nuclear fuel before collapsing in on itself and forming a smaller, fainter white dwarf.

Researchers believe more exoplanets are in danger of dying in the fiery light of their respective host stars, and observations of them may be right around the corner using TESS, or the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, which studies the light of nearby stars.

"The Kepler-1658 system can serve as a celestial laboratory in this way for years to come," Vissapragada said.

"And with any luck, there will soon be many more of these labs."

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Guns taken from NSW police officers after BeReal pointing weapons

2022-12-20 FreeNews

Two NSW police officers have been pulled from active duty and had their guns taken away after posting a BeReal with their weapons.

An investigation is underway after an image was posted on the social media app showing a female officer pointing her handgun at a male officer who held his gun to his head.

NSW Police said the officers, who appeared to be at their desks, had been identified and their guns had been "secured".

"Both officers, who are attached to a Police Area Command within South West Metropolitan Region, have been placed on administrative duties and an internal investigation is underway," NSW Police said in a statement.

BeReal is a photo-sharing app that prompts users to take one unfiltered image per day at a random time, using both the front and rear cameras.

The social media app is typically used among friends and family members, but you can make your settings public.

It's not known if the officer involved had her settings set to public.

Both were smiling in the photograph.

Police responded after the image started to circulate on social media.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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Shocking find inside teenage boy's gut discovered by doctors

2022-12-20 FreeNews

Warning: This story contains images that some readers may find distressing.

Doctors in Turkey have been left baffled upon finding a charging cable lodged in a 15-year-old's stomach.

The teen's parents rushed the boy to hospital after he started complaining of nausea and stomach cramps.

A charging cord measuring almost a metre was found inside a teen boy from Turkey.

An X-ray revealed what was causing the symptoms, and the teen was rushed to Firat University Hospital for specialist care.

Paediatric gastroenterologist Yasar Dogan removed the device through an endoscopy.

It's not clear how the cord, or hair tie, were consumed.

The cord measured 91 cm in length.

A hair tie was also found inside the boy.

The cord was moved with care as it had started to pass into the small intestine.

"We obviously had a hard time removing the cable, as one end of the cable had passed into the small intestine," Dogan said.

"After the procedure was successfully concluded, the patient was sent home in good health."

It's not clear how the items were consumed.

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NASA Mars robot sends final tweet before dying

2022-12-20 FreeNews

A NASA robot is nearing the end of its lifespan but didn't run out of battery without a final emotional tweet.

The NASA InSight lander was launched in May, 2018, and landed on Mars six months later.

Just over four years later, the robot is about to kick the bucket but not without sending its last tweet which has tugged at the hearts of social media users.

NASA InSight Mars Lander final photo

"My power's really low, so this may be the last image I can send," the robot, or its social media managers, tweeted.

"Don't worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene.

"If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I'll be signing off here soon.

"Thanks for staying with me."

The robot was sent to study below the surface and deep inside Mars including its crust, mantle and core.

NASA InSight Mars Lander

It has also been monitoring the tectonic, seismic and meteorite movements on the planet.

"Studying Mars' interior structure answers key questions about the early formation of rocky planets in our inner solar system – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars – more than four billion years ago, as well as rocky exoplanets," NASA said.

During its four-year exploration, the lander detected a magnitude four marsquake which scientists believe was the result of a meteorite strike.

n this artist's concept of NASA's InSight lander on Mars, layers of the planet's subsurface can be seen below and dust devils can be seen in the background.

It has measured over 1300 seismic events.

The robot also studied dust devils which are dust storms that occur on Mars and the electrical currents flowing through the centre of the planet.

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Vatican to return ancient Parthenon sculptures to Greece

2022-12-20 FreeNews

Pope Francis will send back to Greece the three fragments of the Parthenon Sculptures that the Vatican Museums have held for two centuries, in the latest case of a Western museum bowing to demands for restitution of artifacts to their countries of origin.

In announcing the decision, the Vatican termed the gesture a "donation" from Francis to His Beatitude Ieronymos II, the Orthodox Christian archbishop of Athens and all Greece, and said it was "a concrete sign of his sincere desire to follow in the ecumenical path of truth."

The return, which is expected to still take some time to execute, is likely to add further pressure on the British Museums, which has refused decades of appeals from Greece to return its much larger collection of Parthenon sculptures, which has been a centrepiece of the museum since 1816.

The fifth-century BCE sculptures are mostly remnants of a 160-metre-long (520-foot) frieze that ran around the outer walls of the Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis, dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom.

Much of the frieze and the temple's other sculptural decoration was lost in a 17th-century bombardment, and about half the remaining works were removed in the early 19th century by a British diplomat, Lord Elgin.

Aside from the British Museums, fragments have ended up in museums around Europe, and recently a small museum in Sicily decided to return its lone fragment to Greece in a loan that Greek authorities hope will be extended indefinitely.

The Vatican's three fragments include a head of a horse, a head of a boy and a bearded male head. The head of the boy had been loaned to Greece for a year in 2008.

Greece's Culture Ministry said it welcomed the pope's donation, which it said followed a request by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians.

The decision helps Greek efforts for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum "and their reunification with those on display in the Acropolis Museum," a ministry statement said. The Acropolis Museum, for its part, also welcomed Francis' gesture.

The Vatican statement suggested the Holy See wanted to make clear that its donation was not a bilateral state-to-state return, but rather a religiously inspired donation from a pope to a primate.

The intent may be to avoid a precedent that could affect other priceless holdings in the Vatican Museums, amid broader demands from Indigenous groups and colonised countries for Western museums to return looted artifacts, and artworks and material culture obtained under questionable circumstances during colonial times.

In the case of the Vatican Museums, Indigenous groups from Canada have made clear they want the Holy See to return artifacts sent by Catholic missionaries to the Vatican for a 1925 exhibition and are now part of its ethnographic collection.

Jos van Beurden, who administers the "Restitution Matters" Facebook group that tracks the global restitution debate, suggested the use of the term "donation" for specifically religious purposes and "not a government to government affair" was deliberate and could inspire other groups to seek the return of items on similar grounds.

"Does this offer a chance to a claim of an Ethiopian diaspora group in the USA for the return of hundreds of ancient manuscripts looted from the Debre Libanos Monastery by the Italian fascist Enrico Ceruli during Italy's occupation of Ethiopia?" he asked.

A sculpture of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus, is among the Elgin marbles. (Getty)

"Or to the Ethiopian claim for eleven Tabots in the British Museums?"

He was referring to the 11 plaques that are a foundational part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and have been the subject of repeated appeals from Ethiopian patriarchs and others to the British Museum for restitution. According to the Museum Association, the plaques were looted by the British in an 1868 battle but have never been displayed or photographed in recognition of their sanctity.

The British Museum recently pledged not to dismantle its Parthenon collection, following a report that the institution's chairman had held secret talks with Greece's prime minister over the return of the sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles.

The Parthenon was built between 447-432 BCE and is considered the crowning work of classical architecture. The frieze depicted a procession in honour of Athena.

Francis last met with Ieronymos in 2021 in Athens where he issued an appeal for greater unity between Catholics and Orthodox.

At the time, Francis "shamefully" acknowledged the "mistakes" that the Catholic Church had inflicted on others over the centuries, actions which he said "were marked by a thirst for advantage and power".

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Plane passenger thrown into ceiling by 'terrifying' turbulence

2022-12-20 FreeNews

Tiffany Reyes had just gotten back to her seat from the bathroom and was about to buckle her safety belt when Hawaiian Airlines Flight 35 dipped.

In an instant, Reyes found herself on the aisle floor, staring up at caved-in ceiling panels and a cracked bathroom sign that was hanging.

"I asked everyone around me, 'Was that me?" Reyes said.

"They said I had apparently flown into the ceiling and slammed into the ground."

Reyes, 40, was among 20 people on the flight — passengers and crew — taken to hospitals after turbulence struck their plane flying from Phoenix to Honolulu without warning on Sunday.

Eleven people were in serious condition. In all, 36 people received medical treatment for bumps, bruises, cuts and nausea, said Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu Emergency Medical Services.

Reyes was heading home after picking up her daughter Kaylee from college.

She initially thought something had hit the plane and that it was crashing. She briefly thought they were going to die because she had never encountered anything so violent on a flight before.

"That's the most terrifying experience I've been through in my whole 40 years of life," Reyes said.

Reyes wasn't bleeding. And the adrenaline surging through her dulled the pain that would eventually come. She crawled back into her seat. And her daughter, who was buckled up and escaped injury, "just held me the whole time".

Others had it much worse, Reyes said. She saw a woman walk off the plane with gashes in her head and blood on her face and clothes.

An ambulance took Reyes to an emergency room where she received X-rays, had her blood taken and various other screenings. After five hours there, she and her family — her daughter, son and husband — went home to decompress.

She had a headache which began to fade Sunday night. But the left side of her body started to ache.

"I can't even move around in bed," Reyes said on Monday.

"So I have to sleep right on my back without even moving."

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Monday it is investigating the incident.

The full flight had nearly 300 people aboard and carried many passengers travelling to Hawaii for the holidays, like Jacie Hayata Ano, who was heading home.

"It was just rocky," she told KHON-TV.

"And then, it quickly just escalated to the point where we're shaking so much that we were pretty much like floating off of our chairs."

Hawaiian Airlines Chief Operating Officer Jon Snook said such turbulence is isolated and unusual, noting the airline had not experienced anything like it in recent history. Three flight attendants were among the injured, he said.

Jazmin Bitanga, who was also travelling home for the holidays, said there were two drops in altitude, including one that was so strong it sent her boyfriend's water bottle into the plane's ceiling.

"Just all around me, there were people crying," she told Hawaii News Now.

There was some internal damage to the aircraft during the turbulence, Snook said. The fasten-seatbelts sign was on at the time, though some of those injured were not wearing them, he said.

The airline was aware of the forecast for thunderstorms and unstable air and weather conditions, but had no warning that the particular patch of air where the turbulence occurred "was in any way dangerous", Snook said.

He did not know how much altitude the plane lost during the turbulence, saying that would be part of an investigation involving the National Transportation Safety Board. The plane's flight data recorder would provide those details, he said.

The investigation would also address precisely what the passengers and crew were doing at the time, he said.

The Airbus A330-200 began its descent immediately after the turbulence, Snook said. The crew declared an emergency because of the number of injuries on board and air traffic controllers gave the flight priority to land.

The aircraft will undergo a thorough inspection and maintenance, mostly to fix components in the cabin, Snook said.

Snook said he could only speculate whether some passengers hit their heads, but that was likely based on the injuries and the damage to cabin panelling.

"If you don't have your seat belt on, you stay where you are as the aircraft goes down, and that's how those injuries occur," Snook said.

The investigation will examine what other measures were taken, aside from turning on the fasten-seatbelts sign, to ensure passengers were buckled in, he said.

A high wind warning and flood watch were in effect Monday for Hawaii as a strong front moves across the islands, according to the National Weather Service.

On Monday, severe turbulence hit a United Airlines flight travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Houston. The airline said two passengers and three crew members suffered "minor injuries" and were taken to a hospital shortly after the flight landed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. The airline did not describe the nature of the injuries.

In 2019, 37 passengers and flight crew members were injured when an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Sydney hit intense turbulence about two hours past Hawaii. The Boeing 777-200 was diverted to Honolulu, where the injured received treatment. Thirty people were taken to hospitals and nine had serious injuries.

Most people associate turbulence with heavy storms. But the most dangerous type is so-called clear-air turbulence.

The wind-shear phenomenon can occur in wispy cirrus clouds or even clear air near thunderstorms, as differences in temperature and pressure create powerful currents of fast-moving air.

Planes can sail into clear-air turbulence without warning.

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'Serial Grinch' arrested stealing Robert De Niro's Christmas presents

2022-12-20 FreeNews

A suspected serial burglar has been caught allegedly attempting to poach Christmas presents from actor Robert De Niro's Manhattan home in the US, police said.

Officers had been tracking the real-life Grinch amid a string of recent robberies and saw her bust into The Godfather Part II and Goodfellas star's townhouse around 2.45am Monday local time (6.45pm Monday AEDT), police said.

Inside, they found a 30-year-old woman in the living room "attempting to remove property" and arrested her, police said. Police have not publicly identified her by name.

De Niro, who had been upstairs, came down to the living room as the woman was being arrested.

A spokesperson for the 79-year-old actor said he wouldn't be making statements about the attempted robbery.

The incident happened at a townhouse on East 65th Street in Manhattan. The basement door that the woman used to enter the townhouse had signs of forced entry, police said.

De Niro's spokesperson said it was a temporary rental home being used by the actor.

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One in three businesses cancelled Christmas parties due to cost

2022-12-20 FreeNews

More than one third of Aussie businesses cancelled end-of-year celebrations and holiday parties due to rising costs and skyrocketing inflation this year.

And the decision to cut the celebrations could have negative flow-on effects for the businesses, the recruiting company Robert Half has warned.

The independent study surveyed 300 managers from companies across Australia, finding that 38 per cent had cancelled the parties and entertainment this year, citing costs as the reason.

Close up of group of happy friends having fun while pouring champagne during Christmas party.

The move was found to be most common in medium-sized businesses, with 54 per cent taking it up.

Robert Half Australia Director Andrew Brushfield has warned businesses should look to cut costs in other ways in 2023, with reducing company culture likely to impact retention rates and employee satisfaction.

"Cutting highly-valued social events like Christmas parties can leave a sour taste in employees' mouths as the year ends, potentially putting a negative light on the hard work they have done at a time when achievements are usually celebrated with peers," he said.

"Before taking similar actions in the new year, businesses should consider other ways of managing costs like creating and sticking to a budget and keeping track of expenses.

"The idea of having premium corporate culture is becoming one of the biggest attraction and retention strategies amid a tight labour market."

A study of 1019 workers that Robert Half commissioned in June found that 27 per cent of employees ranked company culture as what they valued most about working at their company.

Meanwhile, 50 per cent of the workers said that feeling appreciated and recognised for their efforts was the most important contribute to a positive work culture.

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Grandfather's plea after mobility scooter stolen from garage

2022-12-19 FreeNews

Heartless thieves have stolen a mobility scooter from a devastated Adelaide man who says he can't get around without it.

Geoff Manifold admits he left his garage door up at home in Brighton in the city's south west, by mistake.

Thieves swiped the $6000 Gopher scooter, a bike and a Dyson vacuum last Wednesday night.

Heartless thieves have stolen a mobility scooter from a devastated Adelaide man who says he can't get around without it.Devastated Geoff Manifold admits he left his garage door up at home in Brighton in the city's south west, by mistake.

"Take my bike, take my cleaner I don't care. But the mobility scooter's my life," he said.

CCTV shows the moment a group, suspected to be the thieves, realised it was an easy target.

Geoff had a stroke that shut down the right side of his body 20 years ago.

He spent 13 of those years in a wheelchair, and now relies on the Gopher to get around.

The stolen bike is also crucial to his health and wellbeing.

Geoff's family is keeping a close eye on websites and social media just in case the items show up for sale online.

"I've got enough mobility back in my whole right side that I can now ride a bike so that's part of my rehab," he said.

Geoff's family is keeping a close eye on websites and social media just in case the items show up for sale online.

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Memorial service for slain police officers announced

2022-12-19 FreeNews

A memorial for the Queensland police officers ambushed and killed during a devastating shooting at a rural property is set to be the biggest service the state has ever seen.

The service will honour Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, who were shot dead by Nathaniel Train, his brother Gareth and sister-in-law Stacey at a Wiemballa property last week.

The memorial will be held on Wednesday, December 21 at 10am (AEST) at the Boondall Entertainment Centre.

Superintendent Douglas McDonald said the two officers will be farewelled with full honours.

The ceremony will be livestreamed on Channel 9 for viewers in Queensland and 9news.com.au for viewers around the country.

After the ceremony there will be a full guard of honour before private services are held with the officer's families.

"Our aim is to make sure we honour our fallen officers with a highly dignified and fitting memorial," McDonald said.

Superintendent Douglas McDonald provides the details of the memorial service for the slain police officers.

"We want to acknowledge their sacrifice, honour their bravery and celebrate their lives."

McDonald said up to 8000 people are expected to attend the memorial service including family, friends, colleagues, members of the police service, representatives from other police jurisdictions and emergency services.

McDonald said, in his memory, there hasn't been a memorial service to this scale in Queensland and will be similar to the size of state funerals held in other states.

"We know there is a lot of community interest and a lot of Queenslanders who want to share this memorial with us and the families of the fallen officers," McDonald said.

Due to the public interest, public viewing centres will be set up at King George Square, Townsville Stadium, Mackay Entertainment Centre, Tara Memorial Hall, Dolby Event Centre, and Chinchilla Country Hope Church.

Survivor of the Wieambilla police shooting, Constable Keely Brough, at a vigil held in the Queensland town of Chinchilla.

During the horrific ambush on Monday, neighbour Alan Dare was also shot dead.

Constable Randall Kirk, 28, and Constable Keely Brough, 28, managed to escape with their lives despite the sustained gunfire from the heavily-armed Train trio.

Kirk has been recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery for his injuries.

Constable Randall Kirk and his wife in hospital after the Wiemballa shooting.

The Trains were allegedly wearing camouflage gear when the shooting started, and police are investigating whether the officers were intentionally lured to the property.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said the two officers killed had been "executed".

Over the past week, vigils have been held at Tara and Chinchilla where hundreds of people gathered – including Brough.