Search Results for: exoplanets

A team of European and US astronomers think they’ve taken the first direct image of a planet orbiting another star about 230 light-years away. Until now, planets have been discovered because of the effect they have on their parent star – they haven’t been “seen” directly. Using the European Southern Observatory’s 8.2-m telescope in Chile, the team found a faint, red object nearby a brown dwarf star called 2M1207. By analyzing the object with various instruments, they believe the object is approximately 5 times the mass of Jupiter. There’s still some uncertainty, though, so the team will make regular observations over the next 2 years to see how its position and composition changes.

A team of European astronomers have used the European Southern Observatory’s HARPS Instrument to find the smallest extrasolar planet ever discovered; it’s believed to be only 14 times the mass of the Earth. The planet orbits a star called mu Arae every 9.5 days, which is located 50 light-years away in the southern constellation of the Altar. A planet this size lies right at the boundary between rocky planets and gas giants. But since it’s so close to its parent star, it’s probably rocky, with a relatively small atmosphere, so it would be classified as a “super Earth”.

European astronomers have confirmed a new class of objects, known as “very hot Jupiters”, which are large, extremely hot, and orbit their parent star in an orbit that only takes a couple of days. They used the “transit method”, which measure the brightness of a star over a long period of time to watch for a periodic dimming; an indication that a planet is passing in front. As part of a new survey of 155,000 stars, the astronomers have found 137 transit candidates, and confirmed 2 planets so far using other techniques for finding extrasolar planets.