Oldest Alien Planets Found—Born at Dawn of Universe
This is a story about Indonesia who discovered the oldest alien planet
———————————————
Ker Than for National Geographic News
Published March 26, 2012
Two huge planets found orbiting a star 375 light-years away are the oldest alien worlds yet discovered, scientists say.
With an estimated age of 12.8 billion years, the host star—and thus the planets—most likely formed at the dawn of the universe, less than a billion years after the big bang.
“The Milky Way itself was not completely formed yet,” said study leader Johny Setiawan, who conducted the research while at the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany.
(Related: “Oldest Material in Solar System Found.”)
During a recent survey, Setiawan and colleagues found the signatures of the two planets orbiting the star, dubbed HIP 11952.
Based on the team’s calculations, one world is almost as massive as Jupiter and completes an orbit in roughly seven days. The other planet is nearly three times Jupiter’s mass and has an orbital period of nine and a half months.
It’s possible the planets are much younger than they seem if the worlds formed long after their star was born—but such a scenario is unlikely, the team says.
“Usually planets form just shortly after the star formation,” Setiawan said. “Second-generation planets might also form after a star has died, but this is still under debate.”
Ancient Planets Defy Theory
Setiawan and colleagues found the ancient planets using a technique called radial velocity, in which astronomers watch for periodic wobbles in a star’s light due to the gravitational tugs of orbiting worlds.
The discovery indicates that planet formation in the early universe was possible despite the fact that stars in existence back then were metal-poor—the astronomy term for stars lacking in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium.
In the case of HIP 11952, “its iron abundance is only about one percent that of our sun,” Setiawan said.
The idea of planets springing from such a stellar makeup runs counter to a widely accepted theory called the accretion model, which says that heavy elements are needed to form planets.
Even gas giants like Saturn and Jupiter require heavy elements to take shape, the thinking goes, because they are built upon solid cores. (Related: “New Model of Jupiter’s Core Ignites Planet Birth Debate.”)
The accretion theory has so far been backed up by observations: Most of the planet-harboring stars discovered to date are relatively young and have moderate to high amounts of metals.
But there may be an observational bias, Setiawan said: Astronomers may think the accretion model is correct because planet hunters have been targeting mostly young, sunlike stars.
“To verify this issue, it is necessary to do a planet-search survey around [older] metal-poor stars,” Setiawan said.
(Also see “New ‘Super Earth’ Found at Right Distance for Life.”)
Clock Ticking for Oldest Worlds
Despite the newfound planets’ longevity, it’s unlikely the worlds will survive for another 13 billion years.
The parent star will soon transform into a red giant, Setiawan said, one of the last stages of a sunlike star’s life. (Related: “New ‘Deep Fried’ Planets Found—Survivors of Star Death.”)
During this stage, the star will swell in size and most likely engulf any nearby planets.
The oldest-planets study [PDF] is published online this week in the journalAstronomy & Astrophysics.
Indonesian ‘Eves’ Colonized Madagascar 1,200 Years Ago
Paris. Several dozen Indonesian women founded the colonization of Madagascar 1,200 years ago, scientists said on Wednesday in a probe into one of the strangest episodes in the human odyssey.
Anthropologists are fascinated by Madagascar, for the island remained aloof from mankind’s conquest of the planet for thousands of years.
It then became settled by mainland Africans but also by Indonesians, whose home is 8,000 kilometers away.
A team led by molecular biologist Murray Cox of New Zealand’s Massey University delved into DNA for clues to explain the migration riddle.
They looked for markers handed down in chromosomes through the maternal line, in DNA samples offered by 266 people from three ethnic Malagasy groups.
Twenty-two percent of the samples had a local variant of the “Polynesian motif,” a tiny genetic characteristic that is found among Polynesians, but rarely so in western Indonesia. In one Malagasy ethnic group, one in two of the samples had this marker.
If the samples are right, about 30 Indonesian women founded the Malagasy population “with a much smaller, but just as important, biological contribution from Africa,” it says.
The study focussed only on mitrochondrial DNA, which is transmitted only through the mother, so it does not exclude the possibility that Indonesian men also arrived with the first women.
Computer simulations suggest the settlement began around 830 AD, around the time when Indonesian trading networks expanded under the Srivijaya Empire of Sumatra.
The investigation points to other contributions from Southeast Asia.
Linguistically, Madascagar’s inhabitants speak dialects of a language that traces its origins to Indonesia.
Most of the lexicon comes from Ma’anyan, a language spoken along the Barito River valley of southeastern Borneo — a remote, inland region — with a smattering of words from Javanese, Malay or Sanskrit.
Other evidence of early Indonesian settlement comes in the discovery of outrigger boats, iron tools, musical instruments such as the xylophone and a “tropical food kit,” the cultivation of rice, bananas, yams and taro brought in from across the ocean.
“Madagascar was settled approximately 1,200 years ago, primarily by a small cohort of Indonesian women, and this Indonesian contribution — of language, culture and genes — continues to dominate the nation of Madagascar even today,” the paper says.
How the 30 women got across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar is a big question.
One theory is that they came in trading ships, although no evidence has ever been found that women boarded long-distance merchant vessels in Indonesia.
Another idea is that Madagascar was settled as a formal trading colony, or perhaps as an ad-hoc center for refugees who had lost land and power during the expansion of the Srivijayan Empire.
Yet a third — and more intrepid — hypothesis is that the women were on a boat that made an accidental transoceanic voyage. That notion is supported by seafaring simulations using ocean currents and monsoon weather patterns, says Cox’s team.
Indeed, in World War II, wreckage from ships bombed near Sumatra and Java later washed up in Madagascar as well as, in one case, a survivor in a lifeboat.
The study appears in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Agence France-Presse
Mengubah Plastik jadi Minyak di Madiun
Lagi – lagi siswa Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan di Madiun membawa berita bagus untuk Indonesia. setelah kemarin siswa SMKN 1 menghiasi banyak media karena keberhasilan mereka membuat mobil Esemka, sekarang giliran siswa SMKN 3 yang menjadi sorotan karena sukses membuat alat pengolah limbah sampah plastik menjadi bahan bakar alternatif.
berbekal alat pembakaran dan penyulingan (plastic oil destilator) hasil rakitan sendiri yang dibuat dari tabung elpiji ukuran 3 kg, siswa – siswa ini bisa mengolah plastik jenis apapun menjadi bahan bakar minyak, alias minyak mentah. kualitas minyak dari plastik ini bahkan lebih baik dari minyak tanah karena nilai oktannya berkisar di angka 84-85.
alat pengolah limbah ini tentunya merupakan suatu terobosan bagus yang dapat mengurangi jumlah sampah plastik yang nantinya akan berdampak ke lingkungan. Agar masyarakat bisa ikut berpartisipasi dalam pengolahan sampah ini, Sekolah ini berencana untuk membuat Bank Sampah Plastik dan bekerja sama dengan para pemulung untuk pemasokan sampah plastik. selain itu, SMKN 3 Madiun juga membuat 15 alat pengolah model terbaru yang telah dibagikan ke 15 SMK lain di seantero Jawa Timur, sehingga masyarakat daerah lain juga bisa mengolah sampah mereka.
ditulis di Good News From Indonesia oleh Farah Fitriani (@farafit / farahfitrianifaruq@gmail.com)
Jokowi to test drive Esemka car from Solo to Jakarta
Surakarta Mayor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, a controversial figure behind the production of the Esemka car assembled by vocational high school students, is scheduled to test drive the car from Surakarta in Central Java to Jakarta in the coming weeks.
The car has been prepared to undergo emission tests at the thermodynamics, motor and propulsion system center at the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).
Surakarta deputy mayor Hadi Rudyatmo confirmed the test drive plan.
“If [we transport the car] by truck, we will never know the real condition of the car on the road,” Rudyatmo said as quoted by tempo.co.
Rudyatmo added that the trip from Surakarta would take four days as the car would stop every 100 kilometers.
“Mr. Mayor plans to visit some cities [en route to Jakarta] to display the car to the public,” he said.
According to him, the 1,500-cc car managed to conquer some climbing roads in Tawangmangu, Karanganyar last week.
“We need some small improvements in its lighting to allow its lamps to better illuminate the road signs during night travel,” he said, adding that the repair work is expected to be completed by the weekend.
Jokowi expressed his confidence that the car would pass the test.
“I previously had a bit of doubt about its capacity, but after a test drive to Tawangmangu last week, now I am convinced that the car is road worthy to Jakarta,” Jokowi said.
Jokowi said that the car would stop certain cities in order to encourage students of vocational high schools elsewhere to produce similar innovations.
According to him, two cities have requested being stop-overs for the car; Bandung and Cirebon.
taken from The Jakarta Post
Satu Hal Tentang Blackberry
Saya menggunakan Blackberry (BB) sejak tahun 2007, ketika BB belum begitu dikenal orang di Indonesia. Ketika saya pulang ke Indonesia pada 2009 akhir, saya cukup terkejut ketika semua orang yang saya kenal punya BB, dan menanyakan pin BB saya. Kalau di seluruh dunia dilanda iPhone, Indonesia takluk pada Blackberry, produk RIM dari Kanada. Bahkan Indonesia adalah pengguna BB ke-3 terbesar di dunia setelah AS, dan Kanada.
Adalah hal yang sangat wajar ketika kita berharap RIM membuka pabrik pembuatan BB di Indonesia, bukan saja mendekati market raksasa ini, tapi juga menunjukkan komitmen investasi jangka panjang RIM (dan Blackberry-nya) terhadap Indonesia, konsumen yang telah menjaga Blackberry tetap mengapung di tengah serbuan Apple and Android.
Namun, seorang kapitalis sejati memang hanya mencari untung, dan mencari enaknya. RIM ternyata lebih memilih Penang, Malaysia sebagai tempat pembuatan handset BB. Bukan itu saja, RIM membangun network aggregator di Singapura. Keduanya tentu untuk mengunduh buah yang ranum siap panen, yang bernama Indonesia. Mudahnya adalah RIM sebagai sebuah entitas kapitalis, memanen ladang bernama Indonesia, dengan bibit dan pekerja dari luar, dan hasil keuntungannya dinikmati di luar.
Apa bedanya dengan penjajah Belanda dulu? Sulit membedakannya.
Welcome Aboard, WiFi
Passengers flying on Indonesia’s national carrier, Garuda, will be able to surf the Web and send emails on eight new airplanes starting next year.
Garuda Indonesia’s president director Emirsyah Satar announced in Jakarta at a talk today that Wi-Fi will be provided starting in 2012.
According to Emirsyah, the plan is still in the early stages. To make surfing the web a possibility at 30,000 feet, the company will have to spend a large amount.
“We need to spend $100,000 for one airplane,” he said.
Garuda has confirmed their plan with the Ministry of Transportation because based on Indonesian aviation laws, communication device usage is prohibited on planes.
Emirsyah said the Wi-Fi service will focus on text messaging and e-mail services, instead of call features.
Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said Internet service will be installed on Garuda’s newly imported airplanes: Airbus 330-200 and Boeing 737-800NG. The Boeing 777-300ER already features the service and will be shipped to Indonesia in May 2013.
“The most important thing is Garuda can improve their service for customers,” Ikhsan added.
By 2015, Garuda Indonesia plans to increase its number of airplanes used for both domestic and international flights from 84 to 154.
Antara
Pioneering Precision Satellite Navigation Technology
Boeing and Lion Air, an all-Boeing Next-Generation 737 operator, are pioneering the use of precision navigation technology in South Asia with the introduction of Required Navigation Performance (RNP) flight operations. RNP enables airplanes, using global positioning systems, to fly precisely predefined flight paths without reliance on ground-based navigation stations.
Lion Air, together with Boeing and the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation, successfully performed validation flights to test tailor-made RNP Authorization Required (RNP AR) procedures at two terrain-challenged airports, Ambon and Manado, Indonesia.
“We look forward to seeing these procedures fully implemented so we can realize the substantial economic and safety benefits provided by this program,” said Captain Ertata Lananggalih, managing director of Lion Air. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation Indonesia intends to implement RNP at other airports in the country.
Lion Air is employing the most advanced version of RNP – RNP Authorization Required – that navigates the world’s most challenging terrain. RNP helps reduce airplane flight miles and provides for idle-power descents that save fuel, reduce emissions and noise and enhance safety.
“Boeing is leading the way in designing and implementing performance-based operations such as RNP,” said Neil Planzer, vice president, Air Traffic Management, Boeing Flight Services.
“It’s part of our commitment to help our customers maximize the superior capability and technology inherent in their airplanes.”
Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen, designed, charted, and helped certify the instrument flight procedures, while Boeing Flight Services led the overall project, conducted an RNP Safety Assessment, and trained Lion Air’s leadership, dispatchers and flight crews.
Boeing worked with Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation through the construction of a national regulatory framework necessary to fully certify the airline for RNP operations under ICAO guidelines.
Lion Air is the launch customer for the Boeing 737-900ER and the largest customer and operator of the Boeing 737-900ER in the world. The airline took delivery of its 50th Boeing Next-Generation in September.
The Lion Air Group operates an extensive route network in Indonesia with 488 daily flights across 71 destinations. Lion Air has 49 Boeing 737-900ERs in its fleet today, with an additional 178 slated for delivery.
(SpaceMart.com)
Information Superhighway?
Kemajuan teknologi komunikasi di dunia ini begitu cepat geraknya dan secara radikal telah merubah cara-cara hidup manusia, dari urusan sosial, politik, budaya, pendidikan dsb. Bahkan jaringan teknologi komunikasi lewat computer, saat ini merambah dapur ibu-ibu rumah tangga. Teknologi dibidang ini juga mengalami kemajuan yang dulu tidak pernah dibayangkan; misalkan saja pernah perusahaan Sony, berencana mengembangkan alat monitor kecil, yang dapat ditaruh di ikat kepala atau pakaian, menggunakan trasmisi kulit dan dihubungkan dengan Global Positioning Device, langsung ke server keluarga. Dengan alat ini seorang ibu bisa mengetahui posisi anaknya, apakah sedang kuliah atau nonton film.
Ummat manusia saat ini sedang menyaksikan abad information superhighway , yakni gabungan penggunaan teknologi komunikasi, computer dan televise. Kita semua sekarang menyaksikan akibat dari penggunaan semacam itu seorang peserta sebuah conference dunia tidak perlu secara fisik datang ke tempat acara itu, dia hanya cukup duduk di depan computer mininya di rumah. Dulu pada tahun 1995 Dr. Nathan Rosenberg dari Stanford University di majalah US Today menulis artikel berjudul Tomorrow’s inventions menjelaskan perkembangan kabel fiber optic dalam teknologi telepon pada tahun 1066 dapat memuat 138 percakapan telpon secara simultan antara Eropa dan Amerika Utara. Tahun 1988 menjadi 40,000 percakapan, tahun berikutnya menjadi 1,5 juta percakapan simultan dan dewasa ini sudah jutaan percakapan.
Dunia pendidikan juga terkena dampak cepat perkembangan kemajuan teknologi komunikasi ini dan kemajuan itu telah mengubah persepsi pendidikan selama ini. Lewat information superhighway termasuk multimedia, skala pendidikan menjadi meluas dari lokal menjadi nasional bahkan internasional. Dulu dalam proses belajar-mengajar seseorang harus secara fisik hadir ketempat pendidikan, hal ini mengakibatkan meningkatnya biaya perjalanan, pemondokan dan biaya2 hidup lainnya. Kini seorang siswa dapat memperoleh pendidikan dari negara lain dengan hanya duduk di rumah saja. James Snider dari Universitas Northwestern dalam Majalah The Futurist tahun 1966 pernah mengatakan : “the traditional textobook with national reach is now joined by the virtual course, the virtual classroom, and the virtual school”. Dulu hal ini seperti khayalan, sekarang itu terjadi di depan mata kita.
Kita juga di Indonesia menyaksikan dampak yang hebat dari kemajuan teknologi komunikasi ini. Menurut data yang ada jumlah pengguna facebook di Indonesia sudah mencapai 35 juta orang lebih dan pengguna internet sudah mencapai 45 juta orang lebih. Hal ini menempatkan Indonesia sebagai negara terbanyak kedua pengguna facebook setelah dan ketiga pengguna twitter seteleh Amerika Serikat.
Di dunia ekonomi, kita juga dapat menyaksikan bahwa kemajuan teknologi komunikasi dan informasi telah mengakibatkan perubahan drastis, misalnya penggunaan computer dalam bidang penerbangan berguna untuk penelitian aerodinamika, berhasil mengurangi biaya dalam rekayasa komponen pesawat. Juga membuat sistem ticketing global sehingga mengakibatkan seorang penumpang dari belahan bumi manapun dapat memesan tiket di kantor penerbangan yang berpusat di belahan bumi lain.
Memang benar, kemajuan teknologi komunikasi dan informasi akhirnya menjadi strategi penting dalam kehidupan manusia. Bukan saja berfungsi sebagai respon terhadap factor lingkungan eksternal manusia, juga membangun jati diri manusia itu sendiri. Karena itu sebagian orang merasakan manfaat teknologi ini sebagian lainnya melihat adanya potensi penyimpangan penggunaan teknologi ini.
Dalam konteks politik misalnya, beberapa konflik antar bangsa muncul karena kesalahpahaman akibat dari sedikitnya informasi, bukan karena banyaknya informasi. Acapkali informasi yang sedikit itu berupa rumor yang bersifat imaginary. Larinya modal secara cepat dari satu negara kenegara lain itu juga salah satunya disebabkan karena adanya rumor itu.
Dalam menerima kemajuan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi superhighway ini, otak manusia bukanlah sekedar alat penerima informasi pasif saja. Ia memproses informasi yang masuk, mengatagorikan, membetuk lalu menghubungkannya dengan informasi lain. Dengan itu manusia sanggup menganalisa dan mengambil kesimpulan atas informasi yang sebelumnya mentah kedalam bentuk susunan berfikir yang lebih kompleks. Kalau prinsip pokok ini tidak disadari, teknologi itu akan dimanfaatkan secara negatif. Sebab kemajuan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi ini tak mempunyai batas negara. Berarti hampir semua penerima informasi di dunia ini memiliki potensi untuk menjadi “penerbit informasi” menurut versinya masing-masing. Kisah nyata revolusi didunia Arab yang kita saksikan sekarang ini bisa diketahui masyarkat dunia luas karena munculnya banyak penerbit informasi itu – ada yang lewat youtobe, facebbok, twitter dan skype.
Sebaliknya masing-masing mempunyai potensi untuk diketahui hidupnya yang bersifat privasi. Orang di belahan dunia lain bisa mengatahui kondisi keuangan seseorang, nama teman-temannya, nama saudaranya bahkan cara berfikir orang itu bisa di ketahui. Karena itu orang mulai sadar “ right now, cyberspace is like a neighborhood without police department”.
Dinegara maju banyak ditemui lembaga yang membantu masyarakat untuk dapat menerima informasi yang berguna, serta menerima pengaduan masyarakat tentang penggunaan negative teknologi superhighway ini. Ada baiknya di negara kita ini lembaga-lembaga semacam itu harus segera di pikirkan, daripada terlambat.
*) Drs. Ec. Ahmad Cholis Hamzah, MSC, alumni University of London, Wakil Ketua Ikatan Alumni FE Universitas Airlangga, dan saat ini dosen di PERBANAS dan STIESIA Surabaya.
Indonesia excites Blackbery-maker RIM
RIM’s Jim Balsillie, Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Blackberry making company, spoke of his excitement about Indonesia during the launch of the new Blackberry Bold 9790 and Curve 9380 in Jakarta on Tuesday 15th November 2011. For the first time, the Canadian company announced that the two new handsets would go on sale in Indonesia next week before the rest of the world. This was in recognition and appreciation of Indonesia’s growing market, especially in the telecommunications sector.
RIM’S Gregory Wade, Regional Managing Director for Asia-Pacific, revealed Jim Balsillie “is so excited about Indonesia. He is enthusiastic about the entrepreneurial drive, the innovator and the apps development here.” Wade further revealed his Co-Chief Executive Officer is “impressed with Indonesia’s leadership in terms of applications and social networking. He believes that Indonesia is one of the best places in the world for social networking application development.”
Not only will Indonesians benefit from the launch of two new handsets before the rest of the world, RIM also announced Indonesia would see its first Blackberry “Lifestyle” retail store in Kelapa Gading Mall in Jakarta with plans to open a further 12 stores next year. The move was described as a big investment in Indonesia of around Rp 20 billion once all stores are opened. Gregory Wade disclosed, “We are looking at investments worth millions of dollars to be able to build up these stores and sustain them.”
The reason for RIM’s major investment in Indonesia was due to the country’s bullish economic growth of 6.5% for 2011, strong domestic spending and investment, and its large and growing middle class base which is expected to reach 150 million people by 2015.
Written for Good News From Indonesia by A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi
News Source: Jakarta Globe and Asia One
Engines for Indonesian Sky
By: Siva Govindasamy Dubai 1 hours ago Source:
Garuda Indonesia has picked the CFM International Leap-1-A for its Airbus A320neo aircraft, and ordered CFM56-5B powerplants for its standard A320s and Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines for four more Airbus A330s.
The 15 standard A320s, which will be delivered from 2014 and the 10 A320neo that are due to arrive from 2017 are for Garuda’s low-cost subsidiary Citilink, which will operate them on domestic and regional routes from its hubs in Indonesia. The Leap-1-A contract is valued at $220 million and the CFM56-5B deal around $270 million, said CFM.
Indonesia’s national carrier, which will operate the A330s on its medium-haul routes, has picked the Trent 700s for another six A330s that it has ordered. The value of the contract is $280 million, said Rolls-Royce.
Garuda CEO Emirsyah Satar said that the selection of the Leap-1-A for the A320neo will bring “double-digit enhancements” in fuel burn, noise, and carbon and NOx emissions to the airline’s operations. “These are all critical elements to our long-term plans to grow and expand our reach with Citilink,” he added.
CFM and Garuda also signed a 15-year Rate Per Flight Hour (RPGH) contract, valued at around $500 million, to support the CFM56-7B engines that power the airline’s 63 Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
As part of the contract, Garuda’s maintenance arm, GMF AeroAsia, will acquire the capability to overhaul the engine and undertake that job itself as soon as it is able to do so. This would “increase the competency” of Indonesia’s aviation industry to support the growth of the country’s aviation industry, said CFM president and CEO Jean-Paul Ebanga.
