Astronomers Find Blue Planet Outside Solar System
LONDON (AP) - Astronomers have for the first time managed to determine the color of a planet outside our solar system, a blue gas giant 63 light-years away.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, an international team said the planet known as HD 189733B would look like a deep blue dot if viewed up close.
"Measuring the planet's color is a real first — we have never managed it before with a planet outside our own solar system," Frederic Pont of the University of Exeter in England said Friday.
While Earth looks blue from space because of its oceans, the astronomers said the planet's color was created by a hazy turbulent atmosphere of silicate particles that scatter blue light. To determine the planet's color, the team measured the amount of light reflected off its surface as it passed behind its star.
Discovered in 2005, the planet belongs to a class of giant gas planets called "hot Jupiters" that orbit close to their stars. It has a daytime temperature of around 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 F), and the heat causes rocks to evaporate and glass to possibly rain sideways in howling 4,500 mph (about 7,250 kph) winds.
Astronomers chose the planet for observation because of its proximity to Earth and size in relation to the star it orbits. A light-year is nearly 6 trillion miles.
Pont said the technology the astronomers used pushed the Hubble telescope to its limit given the distance and light from other stars obscuring their view.
"People keep coming up with a better way of viewing planets indirectly so I'm sure the technology will eventually improve," Pont said.
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Man arrested for using missing woman's credit cards
Man arrested for using missing woman's credit cards
SPOKANE - It's been more than three months since a beauty school student seemingly vanished from downtown Spokane. No one has heard from 35-year-old Deanne Hastings since early November.
>>SPOKANE - It's been more than three months since a beauty school student seemingly vanished from downtown Spokane. No one has heard from 35-year-old Deanne Hastings since early November.
>>WATCH: Car kick sparks chain-reaction crash on California highway
WATCH: Car kick sparks chain-reaction crash on California highway
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - A case of road rage caused a chain-reaction crash on a California freeway on Wednesday and a driver caught the whole thing on video. It happened around 6 a.m. on the southbound 14 Freeway near Newhall in Santa Clarita. Witness Chris Traber started recording when he saw a gray sedan cut off the motorcyclist.
>>SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - A case of road rage caused a chain-reaction crash on a California freeway on Wednesday and a driver caught the whole thing on video. It happened around 6 a.m. on the southbound 14 Freeway near Newhall in Santa Clarita. Witness Chris Traber started recording when he saw a gray sedan cut off the motorcyclist.
>>Team recovers body of 19 year old who disappeared on pass
Team recovers body of 19 year old who disappeared on pass
LEAVENWORTH, Wash. - A mountain rescue team has recovered the body of a 19-year-old Mercer Island man who disappeared into a crevasse on Aasgard Pass on June 4. The Chelan County Sheriff's Office says the team and a sheriff's deputy recovered the body of Benjamin Gore at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
>>LEAVENWORTH, Wash. - A mountain rescue team has recovered the body of a 19-year-old Mercer Island man who disappeared into a crevasse on Aasgard Pass on June 4. The Chelan County Sheriff's Office says the team and a sheriff's deputy recovered the body of Benjamin Gore at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
>>Dad, daughter catch teen who fell from ride
Dad, daughter catch teen who fell from ride
QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (AP) - A father and his 21-year-old daughter had caught the teenage girl who fell 25 feet (7.6 meters) to the ground from an amusement park ride. Matthew Howard Sr. and his daughter, Leeann Winchell, say they were about to leave Six Flags Great Escape near Albany, New York on Saturday when they saw the 14-year-old dangling from the "Sky Ride" gondola.
>>QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (AP) - A father and his 21-year-old daughter had caught the teenage girl who fell 25 feet (7.6 meters) to the ground from an amusement park ride. Matthew Howard Sr. and his daughter, Leeann Winchell, say they were about to leave Six Flags Great Escape near Albany, New York on Saturday when they saw the 14-year-old dangling from the "Sky Ride" gondola.
>>California father buries wrong man after coroner's mistake
California father buries wrong man after coroner's mistake
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California man who thought his son had died has learned he buried the wrong man. Eighty-two-year-old Frank J. Kerrigan of Wildomar says the Orange County coroner's office mistakenly identified a body found dead on May 6 as that of his son. Kerrigan says he was told fingerprints were used to ID 57-year-old Frank M. Kerrigan, who is mentally ill and homeless.
>>SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California man who thought his son had died has learned he buried the wrong man. Eighty-two-year-old Frank J. Kerrigan of Wildomar says the Orange County coroner's office mistakenly identified a body found dead on May 6 as that of his son. Kerrigan says he was told fingerprints were used to ID 57-year-old Frank M. Kerrigan, who is mentally ill and homeless.
>>Professor says N. Korea detainee got what he 'deserved'
Professor says N. Korea detainee got what he 'deserved'
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - The University of Delaware is distancing itself from comments made by an adjunct professor after she said a college student who died after being held by North Korea "got exactly what he deserved."
>>WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - The University of Delaware is distancing itself from comments made by an adjunct professor after she said a college student who died after being held by North Korea "got exactly what he deserved."
>>
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Mad Minute stories from Friday, June 23rd
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>>Lobbyist wounded in GOP baseball shooting leaves hospital
Lobbyist wounded in GOP baseball shooting leaves hospital
@gwuhospital Facebook page
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - Another victim of the mass shooting that critically injured a congressman is out of the hospital. The family of Tyson Foods lobbyist Matt Mika says he was released Friday from George Washington University Hospital. Mika was among five people hit by gunfire multiple times in his chest and arm in the attack on a Republican baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 14. The others were U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, two U.S. Capitol Police...
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HGTV's Gaines: Waco restaurant to be called Magnolia Table
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>>WACO, Texas (AP) - HGTV stars Joanna and Chip Gaines say the historic Waco, Texas, cafe they bought last year will be called Magnolia Table and serve breakfast, lunch and brunch. The stars of the TV show "Fixer Upper" say they hope to reopen what had been the Elite Cafe by the end of 2017. Joanna Gaines wrote in a recent blog that she has many great memories from family Sunday brunches at the Elite Cafe. After operating for nearly 100 years, Elite...
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - The Latest on the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election(all times EDT): 6:40 p.m. President Donald Trump is faulting his predecessor's handling of Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. Trump tells Fox News contributor Pete Hegseth in an interview set to air Sunday that he "just heard today for the first time" that former President Barack Obama "knew about Russia a long time before t...
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Chelsea Police Dept.
CHELSEA, Mass. (AP) - Police in Massachusetts are crediting a huge stuffed cow with saving 2-year-old boy who fell out of a second-story window and onto concrete below. It happened Wednesday in Chelsea. Police say the boy was playing in a bedroom with his 12-year-old sister and bouncing on the bed when he bounced right out of the window. He fell 16 feet (4 meters) onto the concrete. Luckily, he was holding onto the cow, which broke his fall. ...
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>>LEWISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man accused of stabbing someone after a confrontation a witness said was sparked by a comparison to SpongeBob SquarePants has been convicted of murder. Prosecutors say 39-year-old Robert S. Lee stabbed Jamal Britton last July at a Lewisburg apartment complex. PennLive.com reports witness Qaisha Jacobs told the jury Britton was angry after Lee told him he looked like th...
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Spokane Hoopfest turns strangers to teammates
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SPOKANE, Wash. - A team is able to play in Hoopfest and continue a family tradition, after a teen steps up to help them fill their roster. This past week, we brought you the story of Jessiah Anderson, who was looking for a third teammate for his Hoopfest team, Z Fighters, as he would face disqualification if he couldn’t fill the roster.
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Special Olympics promotes inclusion at Spokane Hoopfest
SPOKANE, Wash. - Hoopfest brings people together in so many ways, and one way is how Special Olympics is promoting inclusion. Peyton Barber and Capriel Halliday play on Lake City High School’s basketball when they’re not playing in Hoopfest. This year, they got the opportunity though to try something new during Hoopfest.
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>>Team recovers body of 19 year old who disappeared on pass
Team recovers body of 19 year old who disappeared on pass
LEAVENWORTH, Wash. - A mountain rescue team has recovered the body of a 19-year-old Mercer Island man who disappeared into a crevasse on Aasgard Pass on June 4. The Chelan County Sheriff's Office says the team and a sheriff's deputy recovered the body of Benjamin Gore at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
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>>An Arkansas prison inmate recaptured after 32 years
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SPRINGDALE, Ark. (AP) - An Arkansas prison escapee who had been on the run for more than three decades has been recaptured. The state Department of Corrections says 60-year-old Steven Dishman was arrested Sunday at a home in Springdale in northwest Arkansas by local law enforcement and state troopers. The department initially spelled Dishman's first name as Stephen.
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>>Options for Supreme Court on Trump travel ban
Options for Supreme Court on Trump travel ban
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court is expected to decide within days whether the Trump administration can enforce a ban on visitors to the U.S. from six mostly Muslim countries. The high-stakes legal fight has been going on since President Donald Trump rolled out a travel ban just a week after his inauguration. He casts it as critical to deterring terror attacks in the United States.
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>>California father buries wrong man after coroner's mistake
California father buries wrong man after coroner's mistake
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A Southern California man who thought his son had died has learned he buried the wrong man. Eighty-two-year-old Frank J. Kerrigan of Wildomar says the Orange County coroner's office mistakenly identified a body found dead on May 6 as that of his son. Kerrigan says he was told fingerprints were used to ID 57-year-old Frank M. Kerrigan, who is mentally ill and homeless.
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>>NY officer attends graduation of girl he rescued in 2011
NY officer attends graduation of girl he rescued in 2011
NORTH BABYLON, N.Y. (AP) - A Long Island police officer has attended the high school graduation of a teen he rescued from icy waters more than six years ago. Newsday reports that Suffolk County Police Officer Matthew DeMatteo watched Sarah Thalhammer graduate from North Babylon High School on Saturday.
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>>Gay pride parades sound a note of resistance - and face some
Gay pride parades sound a note of resistance - and face some
NEW YORK (AP) - Pride parades in New York, San Francisco and other cities are spotlighting resistance to what participants see as new pressure on gay rights. But the events are also contending with the prospect of protests over their own diversity and direction.
>>NEW YORK (AP) - Pride parades in New York, San Francisco and other cities are spotlighting resistance to what participants see as new pressure on gay rights. But the events are also contending with the prospect of protests over their own diversity and direction.
>>Dakota Access review to re-examine impact on tribe
Dakota Access review to re-examine impact on tribe
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A federal judge has ordered another review of whether the already-operating Dakota Access pipeline might unfairly affect the Standing Rock Sioux. It's uncertain how the process will unfold, but there are two main possibilities. Federal officials who permitted the project to move North Dakota oil to Illinois could revise their analysis, or they could conduct a full environmental study.
>>BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A federal judge has ordered another review of whether the already-operating Dakota Access pipeline might unfairly affect the Standing Rock Sioux. It's uncertain how the process will unfold, but there are two main possibilities. Federal officials who permitted the project to move North Dakota oil to Illinois could revise their analysis, or they could conduct a full environmental study.
>>Air bag maker Takata bankruptcy expected Monday in Japan, US
Air bag maker Takata bankruptcy expected Monday in Japan, US
DETROIT (AP) - Japanese air bag maker Takata Corp. is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Tokyo on Monday. Two people briefed on the matter say most of Takata's assets will be sold to rival Key Safety Systems for $1.6 billion. Takata, which was founded in 1933, couldn't withstand expected hefty lawsuit verdicts and penalties it must pay for making faulty air bag inflators.
>>DETROIT (AP) - Japanese air bag maker Takata Corp. is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Tokyo on Monday. Two people briefed on the matter say most of Takata's assets will be sold to rival Key Safety Systems for $1.6 billion. Takata, which was founded in 1933, couldn't withstand expected hefty lawsuit verdicts and penalties it must pay for making faulty air bag inflators.
>>
