Pictured: First glimpse of an alien planet in orbit around a sun just like ours
Scientists have snapped the first picture of a planet outside our solar system orbiting a star similar to the sun.
The distant world is giant and has about eight times the mass of Jupiter. It lies far out from its star about 330 times the distance of the Earth from the Sun.
Images of the young star and what seems to be its companion planet were taken by astronomers from the University of Toronto using the Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
Clipped from: First Picture of Likely Planet around Sun-like Star | Gemini Observatory
First Picture of Likely Planet around Sun-like Star
September 15, 2008
Astronomers have unveiled what is likely the first picture of a planet around a normal star similar to the Sun.
Three University of Toronto scientists used the Gemini North telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawai‘i to take images of the young star 1RXS J160929.1-210524 (which lies about 500 light-years from Earth) and a candidate companion of that star. They also obtained spectra to confirm the nature of the companion, which has a mass about eight times that of Jupiter, and lies roughly 330 times the Earth-Sun distance away from its star. (For comparison, the most distant planet in our solar system, Neptune, orbits the Sun at only about 30 times the Earth-Sun distance.) The parent star is similar in mass to the Sun, but is much younger.
“This is the first time we have directly seen a planetary mass object in a likely orbit around a star like our Sun,” said David Lafrenière, lead author of a paper submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters and also posted online. “If we confirm that this object is indeed gravitationally tied to the star, it will be a major step forward.”
Clipped from: Extrasolar planet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Extrasolar planet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet beyond the Solar System, orbiting around other stars. As of September 2008, 309 exoplanets have been detected and confirmed.[1] The vast majority were detected through various indirect methods rather than actual imaging.[1] Most of them are massive giant planets likely to resemble Jupiter, though this is likely to be due to limitations in detection technology. Many more recent unconfirmed detections suggest that much smaller worlds may be considerably more common than previous figures have suggested.[2]
Clipped from: YouTube - Planet Quest
The Search for Exoplanets continue. So far Giant Super Jupiters and Super Earths are the only Exoplanets that have been found. As techniques improve, maybe we will find other Earth like planets, and life.
Clipped from: YouTube - Exoplanets around the star 55 Cancri Part 1
Exoplanets around the star 55 Cancri Part 1
This artist's animation takes us on a journey to 55 Cancri, a star with a family of five known planets - the most planets discovered so far around a star besides our own.
The animation begins on Earth, with a view of the night sky and 55 Cancri (flashing dot), located 41 light-years away in the constellation Cancer. It then zooms through our solar system, passing our asteroids and planets, until finally arriving at the outskirts of 55 Cancri.
Exoplanets around the star 55 Cancri Part 2
Related:
First Picture of Likely Planet around Sun-like Star | Gemini Observatory
Extrasolar planet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pictured: First glimpse of an alien planet in orbit around a sun just like ours | Mail Online
Scientists get images of planet with sun-like star - Yahoo! News
First Ever Image of Alien Planet Captured
Possible First Photo of Planet Around Sun-Like Star | LiveScience
First Picture of Likely Planet Around a Sun-Like Star | Universe Today
PLANET IMAGED AROUND A SUNLIKE STAR?! | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine
Fig Branch - The Search for Exoplanets
