Theoretical planetary mass spectra - a predition for COROT

The satellite COROT will search for close-in exo-planets around a few thousand stars using the transit search method. The COROT mission holds the promise of detecting numerous exo-planets. Together with radial velocity follow-up observations, the masses of the detected planets will be known. We have devised a method for predicting the expected planetary populations and compared it to the already known exo-planets. Our method works by looking at all hydrostatic envelope solutions of giant gas planets that could possibly exist in arbitrary planetary nebulae and comparing the relative abundance of different masses. We have completed the first such survey of hydrostatic equilibria in an orbital range covering periods of 1 to 50 days. Statistical analysis of the calculated envelopes suggests division into three classes of giant planets that are distinguished by orbital separation. We term them classes G (close-in), H, and J (large separation). Each class has distinct properties such as a typical mass range. Furthermore, the division between class H and J appears to mark important changes in the formation: For close-in planets (classes G and H) the concept of a critical core-mass is meaningless while it is important for class J. This result needs confirmation by future dynamical analysis.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, MNRAS letter, accepted 2007 February

The roaring tiger's '20s

"Bob Broeg's labor of love"--Page 25."'The Roaring Tiger's 20s' is taken from the book, Ol' Mizzou : A History of Missouri Football, by Bob Broeg. Published by the Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama. Copyright 1974 by Bob Broeg."--Page 2

1939 : football's golden year

"Televised tigers try to top sparkling season"--Page 25."Don Faurot's Tigers of 50 years ago, the Big Six champions and the first Missouri team to be invited to a bowl game, returned to Campus for their golden anniversary."--Table of contents for issue

Photometric monitoring of the young star Par 1724 in Orion

We report new photometric observations of the 200000 year old naked weak-line run-away T Tauri star Par 1724, located north of the Trapezium cluster in Orion. We observed in the broad band filters B, V, R, and I using the 90cm Dutch telescope on La Silla, the 80cm Wendelstein telescope, and a 25cm telescope of the University Observatory Jena in Grossschwabhausen near Jena. The photometric data in V and R are consistent with a 5.7 day rotation period due to spots, as observed before between 1960ies and 2000. Also, for the first time, we present evidence for a long-term 9 or 17.5 year cycle in photometric data (V band) of such a young star, a cycle similar to that to of the Sun and other active stars.Comment: AN in press (eps or ps files on http://www.astro.uni-jena.de/Observations/gsh/gsh_papers.htm

DYSTOTAL

works on display: Melancholie-Box 21 inches, Mercedes Black AD_Ewil (Isolation-Series

Leadership of identified gifted compared to high-potential students studying Iowa\u27s natural history

At one time, students were only considered gifted if they received a score of 140 or higher on an IQ test. Renowned gifted researcher, Joseph Renzulli, challenged this notion with his three-ring conception of giftedness; an interaction between above average ability, creativity, and task-commitment in areas of passion. Renzulli also promoted the development of leadership and social capital through Operation Houndstooth. Today, the national definition for gifted children acknowledges academics, leadership, arts, and creative talents. Schools are beginning to expand their definitions and identification procedures to acknowledge students with creative talents and leadership abilities. How do these students compare when interacting and exploring topics with academically gifted students? This question was explored through a nine-lesson prairie restoration unit within a middle-school extended learning program. Students studied prairies and prairie restoration using Edward de Bono\u27s CoRT Thinking Skills, creative choice activities, and content knowledge. Results showed the creative, high-potential students outperformed their academically-gifted peers on the content knowledge posttest and throughout the lesson activities. They provided more responses during CoRT Thinking Skill activities, incorporated more creative strengths in their products, and connected content to their personal lives. All students showed task-commitment and responsible leadership during the creation and implementation of their Type III projects and creativity was present throughout the unit. The results of this project show that creative; high-potential students benefit from gifted programming and should be included with academically-gifted peers

The formation of HD 149026 b

Today, many extrasolar planets have been detected. Some of them exhibit properties quite different from the planets in our solar system and they have eluded attempts to explain their formation. One such case is HD 149026 b. It was discovered by Sato et al. (2005) . A transit-determined orbital inclination results in a total mass of 114 earth masses. The unusually small radius can be explained by a condensible element core with an inferred mass of 67 earth masses for the best fitting theoretical model. In the core accretion model, giant planets are assumed to form around a growing core of condensible materials. With increasing core mass, the amount of gravitationally bound envelope mass increases. This continues up to the so-called critical core mass -- the largest core allowing a hydrostatic envelope. For larger cores, the lack of static solutions forces a dynamic evolution of the protoplanet in the process accreting large amounts of gas or ejecting the envelope. This would prevent the formation of HD 149026 b. By studying all possible hydrostatic equilibria we could show that HD 149026 b can remain hydrostatic up to the inferred heavy core. This is possible if it is formed in-situ in a relatively low-pressure nebula. This formation process is confirmed by fluid-dynamic calculations using the environmental conditions as determined by the hydrostatic models. We present a quantitative in-situ formation scenario for the massive core planet HD 149026 b. Furthermore we predict a wide range of possible core masses for close-in planets like HD 149026 b. This is different from migration where typical critical core masses should be expected.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, letter MNRAS accepted 2007 Jan