Tau Ceti is a star in the constellation Cetus that is similar to the
Sun in mass and spectral type. At a distance of just under 12 light
years from the Solar System, it is a relatively close star. Tau Ceti is
metal-deficient and so is thought to be less likely to host rocky
planets. Observations have detected more than 10 times as much dust
surrounding Tau Ceti as is present in the Solar System. The star
appears stable, with little stellar variation. Astrometric or radial
velocity measurements have not yet detected companions around Tau Ceti,
but given current search refinement, this only excludes substellar
companions such as large brown dwarfs. Because of its debris disk, any
planet orbiting Tau Ceti would face far more impact events than the
Earth. Despite this hurdle to habitability, its solar analog
characteristics have led to widespread interest in the star. Given its
stability and similarity to the Sun, Tau Ceti is consistently listed as
a target for the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence, and it
appears in some science fiction literature. Unlike other prominent
stars, Tau Ceti does not have a widely recognized traditional name. It
can be seen with the unaided eye as a faint third-magnitude star.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tau_Ceti>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
306:
Roman Herculian guard Adrian of Nicomedia, who had converted to
Christianity after being impressed with the faith of Christians that he
had been torturing, was martyred.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_and_Natalia_of_Nicomedia>
1386:
Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila was crowned Władysław II Jagiełło ,
King of Poland, beginning the Jagiellon dynasty.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jogaila>
1899:
Cyclone Mahina struck Bathurst Bay, Queensland, killing over 400
people, the deadliest natural disaster in Australian history.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahina_Cyclone_of_1899>
1918:
The first known case of the so-called Spanish flu was first observed at
Fort Riley, Kansas, US.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemic>
1980:
Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union was elected to
head the first government in Zimbabwe.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Mugabe>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
obliquity (n):
The quality of being oblique in direction, deviating from the
horizontal or vertical; {{n-g
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obliquity>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I honor my importance and the importance of others. None of us is
dispensable, none of us is replacable. In the chorus of life each of us
brings a True Note, a perfect pitch that adds to the harmony of the
whole. I act creatively and consciously to actively endorse and
encourage the expansion of those whose lives I touch. Believing in the
goodness of each, I add to the goodness of all. We bless each other
even in passing.
--Julia Cameron
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Julia_Cameron>
Show replies by date