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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Grant County Sheriff's Office: Moses Lake Police investigating Frontier Middle School girl's suicide
Grant County Sheriff's Office: Moses Lake Police investigating Frontier Middle School girl's suicide
MOSES LAKE, Wash. - A Frontier Middle School student took her own life this week and now the Moses Lake Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death, according to the Grant County Sheriff's Office.
>>MOSES LAKE, Wash. - A Frontier Middle School student took her own life this week and now the Moses Lake Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death, according to the Grant County Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office posted a message from the Grant County Health District on Monday in an effort to spread the word about suicide prevention following the news of the girl's death.
>>Court documents offer new details in case of teens found in box truck
Court documents offer new details in case of teens found in box truck
SPOKANE, Wash. - Some would call this a mobile drug den: rocks of meth, a hand gun, knife, and nearly naked teens locked in the back. A newly released search warrant filed by Spokane Police details Shonn Anderson and the teens had met up on Facebook Messenger. One of the teens told police that they messaged Anderson asking if he would sell them meth for $40.
>>SPOKANE, Wash. - Some would call this a mobile drug den: rocks of meth, a hand gun, knife, and nearly naked teens locked in the back. A newly released search warrant filed by Spokane Police details Shonn Anderson and the teens had met up on Facebook Messenger. One of the teens told police that they messaged Anderson asking if he would sell them meth for $40.
>>3 people dead after drowning in North Carolina pool
3 people dead after drowning in North Carolina pool
Three people are dead after drowning in a pool early Tuesday morning at a North Carolina apartment complex. Police in Durham responded to the pool at the Chapel Tower Apartments, near Duke University, around 3AM. Officials say two males and a female were receiving C-P-R, but were pronounced dead as a result of drowning. Their names and ages have not been released. Police say a total of four people were swimming at the pool after hours. Officials are i...>>Three people are dead after drowning in a pool early Tuesday morning at a North Carolina apartment complex. Police in Durham responded to the pool at the Chapel Tower Apartments, near Duke University, around 3AM. Officials say two males and a female were receiving C-P-R, but were pronounced dead as a result of drowning. Their names and ages have not been released. Police say a total of four people were swimming at the pool after hours. Officials are i...>>WATCH: Kansas mother gets $132,000 bill after child accidentally knocks over statue at community center
WATCH: Kansas mother gets $132,000 bill after child accidentally knocks over statue at community center
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - A Kansas family received a letter from an insurance company seeking $132,000 in damages after their 5-year-old accidentally toppled a statue in a community center last month.
>>OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - A Kansas family received a letter from an insurance company seeking $132,000 in damages after their 5-year-old accidentally toppled a statue in a community center last month. Sarah Goodman of Overland Park, Kansas, said her family, including her husband and four kids, were at a wedding reception on May 19 at the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center and as they were saying goodbye, they heard some commotion around the corner.
>>Jury finds Chattaroy woman not guilty of second degree murder in death of 5-year-old
Jury finds Chattaroy woman not guilty of second degree murder in death of 5-year-old
5-year-old Gary Blanton III died on April 17 from a skull fracture
SPOKANE, Wash. - A jury has reached a verdict of not guilty in the second-degree murder trial of Cynthia Kahleel. The Spokesman Review reports that 31-year-old Khaleel was accused of beating her 5-year-old nephew Gary Blanton III to death in 2015. According to court documents, Khaleel told detectives she heard a loud bang early in the morning on April 17, 2015, and found Blanton crying on the floor and saying that his ear hurt.
>>SPOKANE, Wash. - A jury has reached a verdict of not guilty in the second-degree murder trial of Cynthia Kahleel. The Spokesman Review reports that 31-year-old Khaleel was accused of beating her 5-year-old nephew Gary Blanton III to death in 2015. According to court documents, Khaleel told detectives she heard a loud bang early in the morning on April 17, 2015, and found Blanton crying on the floor and saying that his ear hurt.
>>Spokane employee burglarized at work
SPOKANE, Wash.- A Spokane man says he's learned the hard way to always lock his car, even if it’s just for 20 seconds. James Parker says thieves burglarized his company truck in a matter of minutes. Behind an alleyway at Mattress Firm off of Division by NorthTown Mall, Parker says he was in the store delivering inventory while his co-worker was across the way at Subway to get food.
>>SPOKANE, Wash.- A Spokane man says he's learned the hard way to always lock his car, even if it’s just for 20 seconds. James Parker says thieves burglarized his company truck in a matter of minutes. Behind an alleyway at Mattress Firm off of Division by NorthTown Mall, Parker says he was in the store delivering inventory while his co-worker was across the way at Subway to get food.
>>
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Mad Minute stories from Monday, June 18th
Mad Minute stories from Monday, June 18th
Here are the extended versions of the KHQ Local News 11 at 11 Mad Minute stories from Monday, June 18th.
>>Here are the extended versions of the KHQ Local News 11 at 11 Mad Minute stories from Monday, June 18th.
>>Yellowstone Park superintendent shuffle shouldn't slow bison quarantine
Yellowstone Park superintendent shuffle shouldn't slow bison quarantine
Photo by Chloe Leis on Unsplash
Photo by Chloe Leis on Unsplash
Officials say the impending change in Yellowstone National Park superintendents shouldn't disrupt the progress of a quarantine program created to produce brucellosis-free bison.
>>BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - Officials say the impending change in Yellowstone National Park superintendents shouldn't disrupt the progress of a quarantine program created to produce brucellosis-free bison.
>>Hundreds of children waiting in Texas Border Patrol facility
Hundreds of children waiting in Texas Border Patrol facility
Hundreds of children are waiting away from their parents inside a Border Patrol holding facility in South Texas, with groups of 20 or more children to a single cage. There are bottles of water, bags of chips, and large foil sheets intended to serve as blankets.
>>McALLEN, Texas (AP) - Hundreds of children are waiting away from their parents inside a Border Patrol holding facility in South Texas, with groups of 20 or more children to a single cage. There are bottles of water, bags of chips, and large foil sheets intended to serve as blankets.
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Police in a Phoenix suburb say a self-driving Waymo vehicle was among five cars involved in a collision, but no serious injuries were reported. The driver of the Waymo vehicle told Mesa police that the car was not in autonomous mode at the time of Saturday night's crash.
>>Police in a Phoenix suburb say a self-driving Waymo vehicle was among five cars involved in a collision, but no serious injuries were reported. The driver of the Waymo vehicle told Mesa police that the car was not in autonomous mode at the time of Saturday night's crash.
>>Man dead in wrong-way crash on I-5 in Lacey
Man dead in wrong-way crash on I-5 in Lacey
The Washington State Patrol says a 28-year-old Tacoma is dead after driving the wrong way on Interstate 5 in Lacey and crashing into an oncoming car. The News Tribune reports that it happened at about 4:40 a.m. Sunday.
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>>Missoula woman dead in street apparently hit by car
Missoula woman dead in street apparently hit by car
Police say a 22-year-old woman was killed when she was apparently hit by a vehicle in western Montana. Police Sgt. Jerry Odlin says officers called to Missoula's Westside neighborhood early Sunday morning found the woman dead.
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>>Ted Cruz edges Jimmy Kimmel in charity basketball game
Ted Cruz edges Jimmy Kimmel in charity basketball game
Cruz Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 - Kimmel Photo - Jimmy Kimmel Live Facebook
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has triumphed over late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel in their much-hyped charity basketball game that Kimmel dubbed the Blobfish Basketball Classic.
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>>Police investigate death of woman found near Kent trail
Police investigate death of woman found near Kent trail
Police say they're investigating after a woman was found fatally injured along a wooded trail in Kent. The woman was unresponsive and having trouble breathing when officers arrived Saturday night.
>>Police say they're investigating after a woman was found fatally injured along a wooded trail in Kent. The woman was unresponsive and having trouble breathing when officers arrived Saturday night.
>>Washington researchers say local orca missing, presumed dead
Washington researchers say local orca missing, presumed dead
Researchers say an adult male orca is missing and presumed dead as resident killer whales struggle with a lack of salmon in the Salish Sea.
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One of three people injured during a flash fire at the main propellant-manufacturing facility for the U.S. Department of Defense has died.
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Spokane family forced to move after racist threats left on their door
Spokane family forced to move after racist threats left on their door
SPOKANE, Wash. - It's been an incredibly difficult couple of months for Kaley Hilderbrand and her family. "We're in the middle of moving from an apartment to a house," Hilderbrand said. It's not something the mom of a brand new baby girl though she would be doing. Back in April, the soon-to-be-married mother of three was living in a north Spokane apartment complex when she received an angry letter about doing laundry at night.
>>SPOKANE, Wash. - It's been an incredibly difficult couple of months for Kaley Hilderbrand and her family. "We're in the middle of moving from an apartment to a house," Hilderbrand said. It's not something the mom of a brand new baby girl though she would be doing. Back in April, the soon-to-be-married mother of three was living in a north Spokane apartment complex when she received an angry letter about doing laundry at night.
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Man with gun tattoo on forehead arrested for illegally possessing a gun
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Police in Greenville, South Carolina, arrested a man with a gun tattoo on his face on several charges Monday, including unlawful carrying of a firearm. The Greenville Police Department posted Michael Vines mugshot on Facebook Monday. Police say he allegedly tossed a fully loaded Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver into the grass after he was involved in a car crash.
>>GREENVILLE, S.C. - Police in Greenville, South Carolina, arrested a man with a gun tattoo on his face on several charges Monday, including unlawful carrying of a firearm. The Greenville Police Department posted Michael Vines mugshot on Facebook Monday. Police say he allegedly tossed a fully loaded Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver into the grass after he was involved in a car crash.
>>Montana man accused of fatally beating 5-year-old girl
Montana man accused of fatally beating 5-year-old girl
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - A southern Montana man accused of beating a 5-year-old girl to death has been charged with deliberate homicide and aggravated assault. The Billings Gazette reports 34-year-old Bridger Boyd was charged in Big Horn County District Court after the girl died Monday.
>>BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - A southern Montana man accused of beating a 5-year-old girl to death has been charged with deliberate homicide and aggravated assault. The Billings Gazette reports 34-year-old Bridger Boyd was charged in Big Horn County District Court after the girl died Monday.
>>27 cellphones stolen? Suspect learns there's an app for that
27 cellphones stolen? Suspect learns there's an app for that
DOVER, Del. (AP) - Authorities say a Florida man has been charged with stealing 27 cellphones during a Delaware music festival after an iPhone app led police to him. The News Journal of Wilmington reported Monday that 34-year-old William Rodriguez, of Miami, has been charged with multiple counts of theft.
>>DOVER, Del. (AP) - Authorities say a Florida man has been charged with stealing 27 cellphones during a Delaware music festival after an iPhone app led police to him. The News Journal of Wilmington reported Monday that 34-year-old William Rodriguez, of Miami, has been charged with multiple counts of theft.
>>South Carolina city council OKs slavery apology resolution
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - In Charleston, South Carolina, once a key slave trading port, the City Council has voted to apologize for slavery. By voice vote, the Charleston City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution denouncing slavery, promising tolerance in the future and proposing an office of racial reconciliation.
>>CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - In Charleston, South Carolina, once a key slave trading port, the City Council has voted to apologize for slavery. By voice vote, the Charleston City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution denouncing slavery, promising tolerance in the future and proposing an office of racial reconciliation.
>>Canadian senate passes weed bill but legalization delayed
Canadian senate passes weed bill but legalization delayed
TORONTO (AP) - Canada's Senate has given final passage to the federal government's bill to legalize recreational cannabis, though Canadians will have to wait at least a few months to legally buy marijuana. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government had hoped to make pot legal by July 1, but the government has said provincial and territorial governments will need eight to 12 weeks following Senate passage and royal assent to prepare for retail sales.
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>>Viral video raises questions of life jacket safety
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COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho - Mulling over even the most minute detail, a viral video shows a father inspecting his daughter's buoyancy vest. The parents even go as far as to weigh their daughter before putting it on and going for a swim. According to the video, the vest was Coast Guard certified and was made for toddlers 50 pounds and under.
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Court docs: Spokane man charged in DV case could face arson charge
SPOKANE, Wash. - Spokane police have filed new warrants that show Fabian Harper could soon be charged with arson for setting his home on fire Saturday afternoon. Investigators are working to determine whether or not he set the home on fire intentionally.
>>SPOKANE, Wash. - Spokane police have filed new warrants that show Fabian Harper could soon be charged with arson for setting his home on fire Saturday afternoon. Investigators are working to determine whether or not he set the home on fire intentionally.
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Man wanted on murder charge out of New York, arrested in Spokane
SPOKANE, Wash.- WSP Troopers arrested a 32-year-old man in Spokane, who was wanted out of Rochester, New York on a murder charge. According to court documents, Robert Norry is accused of murdering his girlfriend back on June 13.
>>SPOKANE, Wash.- WSP Troopers arrested a 32-year-old man in Spokane, who was wanted out of Rochester, New York on a murder charge. According to court documents, Robert Norry is accused of murdering his girlfriend back on June 13.
>>You’re Not Alone: Death of 13-year-old girl shocks Moses Lake community
You’re Not Alone: Death of 13-year-old girl shocks Moses Lake community
MOSES LAKE, Wash. - Blue balloons soared into the open skies of Moses Lake Tuesday afternoon; each one was inked with a message to Valerie Bashaw, the 13-year-old girl who recently took her own life. “We know she’s not physically here but in our hearts and minds and souls,” said one of Bashaw’s ballet instructors, Rian Miles.
>>MOSES LAKE, Wash. - Blue balloons soared into the open skies of Moses Lake Tuesday afternoon; each one was inked with a message to Valerie Bashaw, the 13-year-old girl who recently took her own life. “We know she’s not physically here but in our hearts and minds and souls,” said one of Bashaw’s ballet instructors, Rian Miles.
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