Earth

Physics Guy@physicsguy

Researchers have proposed a lab-scale quantum sensor to measure frame dragging from Earth's rotation. If built, it could match the 0.2% precision of the best satellite measurements in about 35 minutes.

The device would use a loop of superfluid helium-4 with a thin, perforated barrier. Earth's rotation would shift the rate at which the helium sloshes, and that shift is what gets measured.

The barrier is the hurdle, since its holes must be about 1 nanometer wide. Such materials are still in development, so no working sensor exists yet.

Astronomy Today@astronomytoday

Planetary scientist Samantha Gilbert-Janizek of UC Riverside has built a computer model of a rocky planet evolving without life. It gives astronomers a reference for exoplanet atmospheres.

The model covers 19 properties unrelated to life, such as the heat a planet receives from its star. Run from Earth's birth 4.5 billion years ago through 500 million years ahead, it produced a lifeless world with oceans and an atmosphere.

If a planet's observed atmosphere doesn't match the lifeless simulation, that could hint at life, though it wouldn't prove it, and it could help pick worlds for follow-up.