Shards, Axis Ratios and Interstellar Objects
https://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=38854

With ‘Oumuamua, though, we now have to ask whether the 10 to 1 ratio is actually correct, as Jason Wright noted in a recent post.
The problem here is that, unlike the situation with Boyajian’s Star, we have a small dataset to work with, and according to Wright
(Penn State), researchers are getting different aspect ratios, ranging all the way from the aforementioned 10 to 1 down to
a relatively ordinary 3 to 1.

If the latter is the case, the interstellar object may look something more like Haumea than the Shard. “I’ll need to see a lot more
data and hard, critical analysis of the anomalies in ‘Oumuamua before I get interested in the SETI angle at the level I am for Tabby’s
Star,” adds Wright.

'Oumuamua: An Interstellar Visitor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N3_bxZHDDI

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature25020

https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1737/eso1737a.pdf

Press Release - Uncovering the Origins of Galaxies' Halos
https://www.naoj.org/Pressrelease/2017/08/02/index.html

Using the Subaru Telescope atop Maunakea, researchers have identified 11 dwarf galaxies and two star-containing halos
in the outer region of a large spiral galaxy 25 million light-years away from Earth. The findings, published in The
Astrophysical Journal, provide new insight into how these 'tidal stellar streams' form around galaxies.

Researchers from Tohoku University and colleagues used an ultra-wide field of view camera on the Subaru Telescope to
develop a better understanding of stellar halos. These ring-shaped collections of stars orbit large galaxies and can
often originate from smaller dwarf galaxies nearby.

The team focused their attention on Galaxy NGC 4631, otherwise known as the Whale Galaxy because of its shape. They
identified 11 dwarf galaxies in its outer region, some of which were already known. Dwarf galaxies are not easily
detected because of their small sizes, masses and low brightness. The team also found two tidal stellar streams orbiting
the galaxy: one, called Stream SE, is located in front of it and the other, called Stream NW, is nestled behind it.

Kepler Planets Tend to Have Siblings of the Same Size
http://aasnova.org/2017/11/20/kepler-planets-tend-to-have-siblings-of-the-same-size/

After 8.5 years of observations with the Kepler space observatory, we’ve discovered a large number of close-in, tightly-spaced, multiple-
planet systems orbiting distant stars. In the process, we’ve learned a lot about the properties about these systems — and discovered some
unexpected behavior. A new study explores one of the properties that has surprised us: planets of the same size tend to live together.

VIRGO: HST is looking at the interstellar Asteroid A-2017-U1 with Wide Field Camera 3.

SpaceTelescopeLive
http://spacetelescopelive.org/2017-11-21T03:17:00+00:00

VIRGO:

Animation of `Oumuamua passing through the Solar System (annotated)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6PpbO7vIjU

ČT24 za 20 minut! HPC - Ed Kolb

Hyde Park Civilizace — Česká televize
http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/10441294653-hyde-park-civilizace/

We just sent a message to try to talk to aliens on another world | New Scientist
https://www.newscientist.com/...61-we-just-sent-a-message-to-try-to-talk-to-aliens-on-another-world/

Are you there, aliens? It’s us, Earth. Astronomers have sent a radio message to a neighbouring star system – one of the closest
known to contain a potentially habitable planet – and it’s nearby enough that we could receive a reply in less than 25 years.

“I think that’s an unlikely outcome, but it would be a welcome outcome,” said Douglas Vakoch, president of Messaging Extraterrestrial
Intelligence (METI) International. METI is an offshoot of the more familiar SETI – the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.

The target star is GJ 273, also known as Luyten’s star, a red dwarf in the northern constellation of Canis Minor, just 12 light years
away. In March of this year it was discovered to have two planets. One of them, known as GJ 273b, orbits within the star’s “habitable
zone” and could potentially harbor liquid water, and perhaps life.

Astronomers are trying to send a message to aliens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bbjbuCdTA4

https://www.nao.ac.jp/en/news/science/2017/20171117-nro.html

Using more than half a century of observations, Japanese astronomers have discovered that the microwaves coming from the Sun at
the minimums of the past five solar cycles have been the same each time, despite large differences in the maximums of the cycles.

In Japan, continuous four-frequency solar microwave observations (1, 2, 3.75 and 9.4 GHz) began in 1957 at the Toyokawa Branch of
the Research Institute of Atmospherics, Nagoya University. In 1994 the telescopes were relocated to NAOJ Nobeyama Campus, where
they have continued observations up to the present.





https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasa-detects-solar-flare-pulses-at-sun-and-earth

By using multiple observatories, two recent studies show how solar flares exhibit pulses or oscillations
in the amount of energy being sent out. Such research provides new insights on the origins of these massive
solar flares as well as the space weather they produce, which is key information as humans and robotic
missions venture out into the solar system, farther and farther from home.

Hurá!!
http://www.nature.com/news/arecibo-telescope-wins-reprieve-from-us-government-1.22994

Nearly two months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the people who operate one of the world’s pre-eminent radio telescopes —
at the Arecibo Observatory, on the northwestern part of the island — are still without reliable water, electricity, and phone service at
their homes. But their jobs appear to be safe.

The US National Science Foundation (NSF), which funds about two-thirds of the observatory’s annual US$12-million budget, has decided to
continue operating it in collaboration with as-yet-to-be-decided partners. Over the next five years the agency will reduce its annual
contribution from $8.2 million to $2 million, with the rest coming from the unspecified partner institutions.

“I'm so happy they made the right decision,” says Edgard Rivera-Valentín, a planetary scientist who works jointly at the observatory
and the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas. “I’m so happy the observatory stays alive.”