It's been about a month since this blog was opened, and I began to track Gaspar Bakos' accomplishments and interactions with others across the internet. From this I have gained an understanding of the breadth of the interconnection involved in being a successful scientist.
Beyond what I discussed here, I also found transcripts of emails, and what may have been his profile on some photography sites. I would have included those, since I felt they were correct, but, it's never good to assume that anything is exactly what they seem on the internet. Since there wasn't enough information to prove that it was in fact the astronomer Gaspar Bakos, I decided to never formally discuss it.
But the main part of this exercise was to see how scientists work, in publishing their articles, in interacting with others online, in regards to any cross-fertilization between disciplines. So what works? What serves as a good example in behavior for any up and coming undergraduates in the sciences, despite their field?
The number one thing, I think, is to get connected, and stay connected. This applies not only in real life (science clubs and organizations on campus) but also online. Check out websites where scientists share some of their published research. Find serious forums related to science. Start a blog, get connected with other bloggers starting out in the field. Join email newsletters.
The second most important thing is to not be afraid to see what people outside your field are doing, and if you're interested in some of those areas, to check them out, get involved. Bakos is an astronomer, but also a programmer and photographer. Again, the same methods apply as before, and might even be easier online. When you can easily track dozens of blogs, it becomes simpler to find out things you never would have known about otherwise.
Often, new breakthroughs come by applying knowledge from one field to a separate one.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Link Roundup
I'll admit, this may have less actual content than some of the previous entries in this blog. Think of this, maybe, as a snapshot of the last three years:
From the National Geographic News, coverage of the second "puffy planet" HATnet discovered. There's nothing here that hasn't been said before, but it does quote Bakos, and the quotes are fairly interesting.
Via the Space Telescope Science Institute, it's possible to look up in their archives when in the past Bakos has given talks for various colloquia and symposiums. They have from the previous spring's colloquia certain talks archived as videos, and Bakos' is among them.
Finally, there is another article relating to this year's discovery, through Astronomy Now. What is truly of interest, though, is at the end of the article. A new space telescope, the Kepler, is to be launched next week; its purpose is to search for extrasolar planets, particularly of Earth-like nature. One of the planets it will scrutinize will be this new discovery by HATnet, according to the article. From space, so the hope is, it will be possible to resolve more information than the currently ground-based telescope system that makes up HATnet.
From the National Geographic News, coverage of the second "puffy planet" HATnet discovered. There's nothing here that hasn't been said before, but it does quote Bakos, and the quotes are fairly interesting.
Via the Space Telescope Science Institute, it's possible to look up in their archives when in the past Bakos has given talks for various colloquia and symposiums. They have from the previous spring's colloquia certain talks archived as videos, and Bakos' is among them.
Finally, there is another article relating to this year's discovery, through Astronomy Now. What is truly of interest, though, is at the end of the article. A new space telescope, the Kepler, is to be launched next week; its purpose is to search for extrasolar planets, particularly of Earth-like nature. One of the planets it will scrutinize will be this new discovery by HATnet, according to the article. From space, so the hope is, it will be possible to resolve more information than the currently ground-based telescope system that makes up HATnet.
Even scientists like to have a little fun
Since this blog is drawing to a close, I thought before I went through and completed one final post before the big finale, I'd link this post here, from Systemic, a blog devoted to exosolar planets.
It's in regards to an email from Gaspar Bakos, early this year. To quote it in its entirety, "A phaeton tuned fun".
For the word-play challenged, it's an anagram, intended as a sort of laconic phrase. The decrypted message is in the very title of the blog post linked in this paragraph, so as not to spoil the discovery Mr. Bakos is referring to.
It's in regards to an email from Gaspar Bakos, early this year. To quote it in its entirety, "A phaeton tuned fun".
For the word-play challenged, it's an anagram, intended as a sort of laconic phrase. The decrypted message is in the very title of the blog post linked in this paragraph, so as not to spoil the discovery Mr. Bakos is referring to.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Website: Research Crossroads
Another result of a late-night trawl through Google, Research Crossroads is a website that, according to their mission statement, aims to make accessible who gets public funding for their research. Their argument is that researchers are able to connect with their peers and stay up to date with the latest in research across fields, and that the funding foundations both receive access to important statistics and get publicity.
Gaspar Bakos has a profile on this website. From here, it is easy to find out how funding he has received, for what projects and organizations, as well as which organizations funded the projects. Furthermore, it lists summaries of the proposed projects.
While both of Mr. Bakos projects listed on the site currently date to 2007, the concept behind this website is quite intriguing especially for interdisciplinary interaction. It provides a good place for scientists receiving or applying for grants to not only publicize what they are investigating, but what others are receiving funding for.
Gaspar Bakos has a profile on this website. From here, it is easy to find out how funding he has received, for what projects and organizations, as well as which organizations funded the projects. Furthermore, it lists summaries of the proposed projects.
While both of Mr. Bakos projects listed on the site currently date to 2007, the concept behind this website is quite intriguing especially for interdisciplinary interaction. It provides a good place for scientists receiving or applying for grants to not only publicize what they are investigating, but what others are receiving funding for.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Gaspar Bakos on Scientific Commons
While looking around on the web (perhaps the quickest way to find what people are up to sometimes) I ran across an interesting site called the Scientific Commons. Its mission statement claims that it aims to create a comprehensive and public compilation of scientific materials on the internet.
More importantly, I found several of Bakos' works on the website. I find this entire set-up quite interesting, as it makes it much easier for the general public, the beginning student in the sciences, and even professionals to gain quick access to certain scientific papers. It even goes so far as to list co-authors on papers and provides further links to other works they have participated in.
More importantly, I found several of Bakos' works on the website. I find this entire set-up quite interesting, as it makes it much easier for the general public, the beginning student in the sciences, and even professionals to gain quick access to certain scientific papers. It even goes so far as to list co-authors on papers and provides further links to other works they have participated in.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Another discovery
I'm not sure exactly how I missed this piece of news (in fact, I only found it by checking Harvard's news releases), but almost a month ago it seems that the HATnet team announced the discovery of another large exoplanet, HAT-P-11 b. It is apparently another large gas giant similar to their first discovery.
There's an interesting simulation of the planet orbiting its star here. As one can see, it possesses a rather eccentric orbit.
It would appear that large planets are much easier to discover, when HATnet's success is compared with other teams. Perhaps larger objects are more likely to cause a noticeable distortion (the wobble) to the star they orbit; this would fall in line with what physics would predict.
There's an interesting simulation of the planet orbiting its star here. As one can see, it possesses a rather eccentric orbit.
It would appear that large planets are much easier to discover, when HATnet's success is compared with other teams. Perhaps larger objects are more likely to cause a noticeable distortion (the wobble) to the star they orbit; this would fall in line with what physics would predict.
Monday, February 9, 2009
On webspace
Like any good scientist, Gaspar Bakos maintains a website. Here it is, under the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Aside from certain points of interest, such as his curriculum vitae, there is an overview of HATnet that might look familiar. Yes, I linked to that last week. I would like to point out (and this is not intended as a slight on Mr. Bakos) that some of the HTML on the HATnet page is incorrect, leading any visitors who click on those links to find that the URL goes elsewhere. The pages he intended to link to are still in existence, the coding was simply done improperly.
Of more interest, however, is the list of publications. Over the following week, I intend to briefly summarize and discuss some of them, including the one in regards to the planet HATnet discovered in 2006.
Aside from certain points of interest, such as his curriculum vitae, there is an overview of HATnet that might look familiar. Yes, I linked to that last week. I would like to point out (and this is not intended as a slight on Mr. Bakos) that some of the HTML on the HATnet page is incorrect, leading any visitors who click on those links to find that the URL goes elsewhere. The pages he intended to link to are still in existence, the coding was simply done improperly.
Of more interest, however, is the list of publications. Over the following week, I intend to briefly summarize and discuss some of them, including the one in regards to the planet HATnet discovered in 2006.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Planetary composition
Exosolar planets are planets outside our solar system. They are planets that are hundreds of light-years away. These are planets that are usually discovered by the way they distort the light of the stars around them--no clear photos here.
So, how do scientists determine what a planet is made of?
The answer involves a little math. To get the density of a planet, one must know the mass and volume, since the formula for density is mass divided by volume.
Determining an exosolar planet's mass involves observing the star it orbits. Because of their gravitational pull on one another, the star will "wobble" slightly. By measuring how much the planet makes the star "wobble", it's then possible to determine an accurate mass for the planet.
Volume calculations involve making observations while one celestial body eclipses another. The degree to how much the light of one is dimmed by another makes for a good estimate of volume.
Knowing both of these figures allows for the calculation of density.
Furthermore, the general atmospheric makeup can be determined, if one has a spectrograph and light filtering past the observed planet. If certain frequencies are missing, then that's a sign they have been absorbed by the planet's atmosphere, and thus are present.
Citations:
Holladay, April. (2006). How scientists determine the composition of each planet. Retrieved February 6 2009, from: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2006-09-25-measuring-planets_x.htm
Strobel, Nick. (2007) Planetary science. Retrieved February 6 2009, from: http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s2.htm
So, how do scientists determine what a planet is made of?
The answer involves a little math. To get the density of a planet, one must know the mass and volume, since the formula for density is mass divided by volume.
Determining an exosolar planet's mass involves observing the star it orbits. Because of their gravitational pull on one another, the star will "wobble" slightly. By measuring how much the planet makes the star "wobble", it's then possible to determine an accurate mass for the planet.
Volume calculations involve making observations while one celestial body eclipses another. The degree to how much the light of one is dimmed by another makes for a good estimate of volume.
Knowing both of these figures allows for the calculation of density.
Furthermore, the general atmospheric makeup can be determined, if one has a spectrograph and light filtering past the observed planet. If certain frequencies are missing, then that's a sign they have been absorbed by the planet's atmosphere, and thus are present.
Citations:
Holladay, April. (2006). How scientists determine the composition of each planet. Retrieved February 6 2009, from: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay/2006-09-25-measuring-planets_x.htm
Strobel, Nick. (2007) Planetary science. Retrieved February 6 2009, from: http://www.astronomynotes.com/solarsys/s2.htm
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A new type of planet
To pick up from yesterday, what was the planet that was discovered?
As it's sometimes said, one instance is an anomaly, two might be coincidence and three is a pattern. The planet that was discovered by the HATnet, HAT-P-1, was the second of the type of planet that has been termed the puffy planet, a type of gas giant. A third was discovered in 2007.
Puffy planets are huge. They are larger than even Jupiter. But surprisingly, they are less dense than even Saturn, which is often said famously to be able to float in a bathtub. To quote Bakos in the official press release, ""This planet is about one-quarter the density of water. In other words, it's lighter than a giant ball of cork!"
The mystery involved with these planets, now, is to discover exactly how they are formed. Within current astronomical theories, there is no explanation for them. There is yet another mystery, as well: they are what is often term as "hot Jupiters", or very hot gas giants. How they have remained so large and hot--given they are not by any means young planets--remains puzzling.
Tomorrow, the methodology used to determine the characteristics of the puffy planets, or, "how can they tell how dense something so far away is, anyway?"
Citations:
Chang, Kenneth. (2006). Puzzling puffy planet, less dense than cork, is discovered. Retrieved February 5 2009, from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/science/space/15planet.html?ex=1315972800&en=3646d4e6a10ec036&ei=5089&emc=rss
European Space Agency. (2007). COROT discovers its first exoplanet and catches scientists by surprise. Retrieved February 5 2009, from: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMCKNU681F_index_0.html
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. (2006) Strange new planet baffles astronomers. Retrieved February 5 2009, from: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2006/pr200624.html
As it's sometimes said, one instance is an anomaly, two might be coincidence and three is a pattern. The planet that was discovered by the HATnet, HAT-P-1, was the second of the type of planet that has been termed the puffy planet, a type of gas giant. A third was discovered in 2007.
Puffy planets are huge. They are larger than even Jupiter. But surprisingly, they are less dense than even Saturn, which is often said famously to be able to float in a bathtub. To quote Bakos in the official press release, ""This planet is about one-quarter the density of water. In other words, it's lighter than a giant ball of cork!"
The mystery involved with these planets, now, is to discover exactly how they are formed. Within current astronomical theories, there is no explanation for them. There is yet another mystery, as well: they are what is often term as "hot Jupiters", or very hot gas giants. How they have remained so large and hot--given they are not by any means young planets--remains puzzling.
Tomorrow, the methodology used to determine the characteristics of the puffy planets, or, "how can they tell how dense something so far away is, anyway?"
Citations:
Chang, Kenneth. (2006). Puzzling puffy planet, less dense than cork, is discovered. Retrieved February 5 2009, from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/science/space/15planet.html?ex=1315972800&en=3646d4e6a10ec036&ei=5089&emc=rss
European Space Agency. (2007). COROT discovers its first exoplanet and catches scientists by surprise. Retrieved February 5 2009, from: http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMCKNU681F_index_0.html
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. (2006) Strange new planet baffles astronomers. Retrieved February 5 2009, from: http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2006/pr200624.html
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
On types of planets
Basically, there are two broad categories of planets. There are rocky, or terrestrial planets, and there are gaseous planets, which are also termed gas giants. An example of the former in our solar system would be Mars, and of the latter, Jupiter.
More precisely, a terrestrial planet may or may not possess an atmosphere. They have a definite solid surface somewhere, unlike gas giants, and always have some sort of metallic core. There are finer subdivisions of terrestrial planets into types depending on their composition, whether they are considered a planet proper or a dwarf (remember the argument about Pluto's status a few years back?), their temperature and so forth.
A gas giant generally lives up to its name. They are large; Space.com lists Jupiter as being able to contain around 1,500 Earths. Most noticeably, they possess a thick atmosphere which makes up the majority of their mass. The surface of a gas giant is not easily detectable, and may not be solid.
They are generally divided into two types. There are the "normal" gas giants, which mostly consist of hydrogen and helium, such as Saturn and Jupiter in our Solar System. Then there are "ice giants", which consist mainly of water, methane and ammonia. These are represented by Neptune and Uranus in our Solar System.
But they're not the only types of planet. So what did Gáspár Bakos' network discover? That'll have to wait until tomorrow.
Web Resources:
Arnett, Bill. (2009). Jupiter. Retrieved February 4 2009, from: The Nine Planets
Solar System Tour: http://www.nineplanets.org/jupiter.html
Arnett, Bill. (2009). Jupiter. Retrieved February 4 2009, from: The Nine Planets
Solar System Tour: http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html
Arnett, Bill. (2009). Jupiter. Retrieved February 4 2009, from: The Nine Planets
Solar System Tour: http://www.nineplanets.org/neptune.html
Comments: Worth browsing. Good overview of the Solar System.
Space.com. (2009) Virtual Space Tour. Retrieved February 4 2009 from:
http://www.space.com/php/popup/virtualspacetour/noad_astropedia.php
Comments: Also not a bad starting point; this one's more interactive. Space.com in general is a good go-to for space and astronomy news.
More precisely, a terrestrial planet may or may not possess an atmosphere. They have a definite solid surface somewhere, unlike gas giants, and always have some sort of metallic core. There are finer subdivisions of terrestrial planets into types depending on their composition, whether they are considered a planet proper or a dwarf (remember the argument about Pluto's status a few years back?), their temperature and so forth.
A gas giant generally lives up to its name. They are large; Space.com lists Jupiter as being able to contain around 1,500 Earths. Most noticeably, they possess a thick atmosphere which makes up the majority of their mass. The surface of a gas giant is not easily detectable, and may not be solid.
They are generally divided into two types. There are the "normal" gas giants, which mostly consist of hydrogen and helium, such as Saturn and Jupiter in our Solar System. Then there are "ice giants", which consist mainly of water, methane and ammonia. These are represented by Neptune and Uranus in our Solar System.
But they're not the only types of planet. So what did Gáspár Bakos' network discover? That'll have to wait until tomorrow.
Web Resources:
Arnett, Bill. (2009). Jupiter. Retrieved February 4 2009, from: The Nine Planets
Solar System Tour: http://www.nineplanets.org/jupiter.html
Arnett, Bill. (2009). Jupiter. Retrieved February 4 2009, from: The Nine Planets
Solar System Tour: http://www.nineplanets.org/mars.html
Arnett, Bill. (2009). Jupiter. Retrieved February 4 2009, from: The Nine Planets
Solar System Tour: http://www.nineplanets.org/neptune.html
Comments: Worth browsing. Good overview of the Solar System.
Space.com. (2009) Virtual Space Tour. Retrieved February 4 2009 from:
http://www.space.com/php/popup/virtualspacetour/noad_astropedia.php
Comments: Also not a bad starting point; this one's more interactive. Space.com in general is a good go-to for space and astronomy news.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
On HATnet
Gáspár Bakos' major contribution to the astronomical sciences is the creation of HATnet, which is short for Hungarian-made Automated Telescope. This system, as described in the previous link, originated to track certain bright variable objects (which includes both stars and planets, among others) in the northern hemisphere's sky, without any direct assistance necessary from humans.
Bakos developed the prototype of the telescopes currently in use while an undergraduate student in Hungary. Interestingly, it was home-made; it was built using camera components.
Through this telescope network, which now includes locations in Israel, Hawaii and Arizona, an entirely new class of planet was detected in 2006.
So what's the big deal about the planets? For the next three days, I'll try to cover the basics of astronomy, the planet his network discovered, as well as the difficulty involved with detecting extrasolar planets.
Bakos developed the prototype of the telescopes currently in use while an undergraduate student in Hungary. Interestingly, it was home-made; it was built using camera components.
Through this telescope network, which now includes locations in Israel, Hawaii and Arizona, an entirely new class of planet was detected in 2006.
So what's the big deal about the planets? For the next three days, I'll try to cover the basics of astronomy, the planet his network discovered, as well as the difficulty involved with detecting extrasolar planets.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Hi, this is my blog for LS.556.W1, Bibliography of the Sciences. In these entries, I plan to write about a brilliant young scientist, Gáspár Bakos. Popular Science named him, among several others, one of the most promising young scientists of 2007. He build his own telescope network, and through it, discovered a new type of planet.
More to come later.
More to come later.
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