EL SEGUNDO HERALD September 1, 2016 Page 17 Looking Up Planet Found in Habitable Zone around Nearest Star By Bob Eklund Astronomers have found clear evidence of a planet orbiting the closest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri. The long-sought world, designated Proxima b, orbits its cool red parent star every 11 days and has a temperature suitable for liquid water to exist on its surface. This rocky world is a little more massive than the Earth and is the closest exoplanet to us—and it may also be the closest possible abode for life outside the solar system. A paper describing this milestone finding was published in the journal Nature on Aug. 25. Just over four light-years from the solar system lies a red dwarf star that has been named Proxima Centauri, as it is the closest star to Earth apart from “This discovery will be the beginning of extensive further observations, both with current instruments and with the next generation of giant telescopes such as the European Extremely Large Telescope.” the Sun. This cool star in the southern constellation of Centaurus is too faint to be seen with the unaided eye and lies near to the much brighter pair of stars known as Alpha Centauri AB. During the first half of 2016, Proxima Centauri was regularly observed with the HARPS spectrograph on the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 3.6-meter telescope at La Silla in Chile, and simultaneously monitored by other telescopes around the world. This was known as the “Pale Red Dot” campaign, in which a team of astronomers led by Guillem Anglada-Escudé, from Queen Mary University of London, was looking for the tiny back-and-forth wobble of the star that would be caused by the gravitational pull of a possible orbiting planet. The Pale Red Dot data, when combined with earlier observations made at ESO observatories and elsewhere, revealed the clear signal of a truly exciting result. At times Proxima Centauri is approaching Earth at about 3 miles per hour— normal human walking pace—and at times receding at the same speed. This regular pattern of changing radial velocities repeats with a period of 11.2 days. Careful analysis of the resulting tiny Doppler shifts showed that they indicated the presence of a planet with a mass at least 1.3 times that of the Earth, orbiting some 4.5 million miles from Proxima Centauri—only 5 percent of the Earth-Sun distance. Although Proxima b orbits much closer to its star than Mercury does to the Sun in our solar system, the star itself is far fainter than the Sun. As a result, Proxima b lies well within the habitable zone around the star and has an estimated surface temperature that would allow the presence of liquid water. Despite the temperate orbit of Proxima b, the conditions on the surface may be strongly affected by ultraviolet and X-ray flares from this very active star—far more intense than the Earth experiences from the Sun. This discovery will be the beginning of extensive further observations, both with current instruments and with the next generation of giant telescopes such as the European Extremely Large Telescope. Proxima b will be a prime target for the hunt for evidence of life elsewhere in the universe. Indeed, the Alpha Centauri system is also the target of humankind’s first attempt to travel to another star system, the Starshot (https:// breakthroughinitiatives.org/Initiative/3) project. Guillem Anglada-Escudé concludes: “Many exoplanets have been found and many more will be found, but searching for the closest potential Earth-analogue and succeeding has been the experience of a lifetime for all of us. Many people’s stories and efforts have converged on this discovery. The result is also a tribute to all of them. The search for life on Proxima b comes next.” • Finance 5 Interest Rate Terms Every First- Time Homebuyer Should Know a borrower’s default. If you’re buying a manufactured home, you can collateralize the loan with either the home itself or with the home and a piece of land together. For sitebuilt homes, the loan would be collateralized with the home and land together always. • Loan amount - The amount you need to borrow is calculated by taking the purchase price of the home, less your down payment, and adding any other expenses that will be financed as part of the loan, which could include closing costs, discount points and third party fees. • Credit score - Lenders will want to review the credit reports and scores for everyone who is listed as a borrower on the mortgage application. With your written permission, the lender will obtain your credit report from a credit reporting agency. Generally, the better your credit score is the more likely you will be approved, plus qualify for the best available interest rate from the lender you choose. • Origination cost - This is the amount the lender charges to process the loan application, which includes gathering and reviewing all loan application documents, underwriting and closing your home loan. This expense typically appears on your loan documents as a “loan origination fee.” “After you apply for a mortgage, the lender should be able to give you an idea of the interest rate you’ll likely qualify for,” Hamilton says. “With that information, you can use a monthly mortgage payment calculator to estimate just how much the mortgage payment will be each month. Knowing the monthly payment can help homebuyers make better decisions about budgeting, savings, spending and investing.” To learn more about mortgages for manufactured homes, visit www. vmfhomeloan.com. • (BPT) - You’ve saved enough for a down payment, your budget is looking good and you’re earning steady income. You’re at the point in your life where you feel confident you’re ready to buy that first home. Congratulations! Buying a home is one of the most exciting and rewarding purchases you’ll ever make. However, if it’s your first time shopping for a mortgage, you may not be super knowledgeable about some of the financing terms you’ll hear, including “interest rates.” If you’ve used any kind of credit before, you probably have a basic understanding of interest - it’s the money lenders charge in exchange for allowing you to use their funds to make a purchase. While the basic concept is simple, mortgage interest rates can be complex and differing. “Many factors go into determining the interest rate your lender will offer you,” says Eric Hamilton, president of Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance. “By understanding the factors that influence your interest rate, you can obtain the best possible mortgage plan and get into the home of your dreams quicker.” A variety of factors determines your interest rate, including: • Down payment - Just as you put money down on a new car, mortgage lenders like to see down payments from homebuyers. A down payment not only reduces the total amount you need to borrow, but it also shows the lender you are able to manage money. Different lenders require different amounts for a down payment, but most would likely view 10-20 percent of the home’s purchase price to be a good down payment. • Collateral - This is the property you agree to “put up” in exchange for the loan and serves to protect the lender against Sound Insulation from front page to be insulated first be tested to ensure they will sufficiently benefit from the work. The employees who received their notices are primarily in the RSI construction and design staff, plus an employee who served as the program’s homeowner coordinator. Since 2014, the FAA has tightened its oversight of the city’s RSI Program and similar programs nationwide, leading to long delays in reimbursement for the city. The city has worked diligently with the FAA to obtain reimbursement, but currently has $2 million in outstanding reimbursements. For a city the size of El Segundo, this is a significant burden. “Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, we’ve found it difficult to work within new FAA rules and FAA interpretations of existing regulations, and this has essentially brought new work under our program to a standstill,” noted Greg Carpenter, the City’s City Manager. “We cannot continue to employ people if there is no construction in the foreseeable future, so suspending the program while we work through these issues is the only reasonable path forward for us.” Once the reimbursement issues are resolved, the city will have options on restarting the Program. It can attempt to continue to manage the program internally, as it has done since its inception (albeit with the new FAA rules and interpretations). Or, the city can decide to turn the Program over to LAWA, which will then take on the responsibility of insulating the remaining eligible homes in the city. For additional information, please contact the program office at (310) 524-2352 or JONeill@elsegundo.org. Provided by the City of El Segundo. •
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