Exoplanet imaged?!

Euler · 2004-09-10 18:01:55

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/natu … ]Telescope snaps distant 'planet'

Yepun, part of the VLT array, was used to take a picture of what is believed to be an evoplanet orbiting a brown drawf called 2M1207 230 ly away.

http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/p … html]press release

SpaceNut · 2004-09-10 20:08:31

I had found this info earlier today but had posted this under the exoplanet anouncement. I think this is the same one also.
Photo may be first of extrasolar planet
A group of European-led astronomers has made a photograph of what appears to be a planet orbiting another star. If so, it would be the first confirmed picture of a world beyond our solar system.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/09/1 … index.html

Euler · 2004-09-10 23:55:53

What I find interesting about this is that the planet is 230 ly away and it was discovered using only one of the telescopes that are part of VLT. I think this shows that imaging large planets (at least around brown dwarfs) is now well within the capabilities of modern telescopes, and I expect that we will see more instances of this soon.

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2005-02-15 11:35:33

it could be the one

thespacesite

follow up observations carried out with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are providing important supporting evidence for the existence of a candidate planetary companion to a relatively bright young brown dwarf star located 225 light-years away in the southern constellation Hydra.
Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile detected the planet candidate in April 2004 with infrared observations using adaptive optics to sharpen their view. The VLT astronomers spotted a faint companion object to the brown dwarf star 2MASSWJ 1207334-393254 (aka 2M1207). The object is a candidate planet because it is only one-seven-hundredth the brightness of the brown dwarf (at the longer-than-Hubble wavelengths observed with the VLT) and glimmers at barely 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, which is cooler than a light bulb filament.
Because an extrasolar planet has never been directly imaged before, this remarkable observation required Hubble's unique abilities to do follow-up observations to test and validate if it is indeed a planet. Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) camera conducted complementary observations taken at shorter infrared wavelength observations unobtainable from the ground. This wavelength coverage is important because it is needed to characterize the object's physical nature.
Very high precision measurements of the relative position between the dwarf and companion were obtained with NICMOS in August 2004. The Hubble images were compared to the earlier VLT observations to try and see if the two objects are really gravitationally bound and hence move across the sky together. Despite the four months between the VLT and NICMOS observations, astronomers say they can almost rule out the probability that the suspected planet is really a background object, because there was no noticeable change in its position relative to the dwarf.
If the two objects are indeed gravitationally bound together they are at least 5 billion miles apart, about 30 percent farther apart than Pluto is from the Sun. Given the mass of 2M1207, inferred from its spectrum, the companion object would take a sluggish 2,500 years to complete one orbit.

SpaceNut · 2005-03-23 06:46:07

Many late day news releases on the detection of infrared light from two exoplanets by the Spitzer telescope.

The observation showed that the two exoplanets, both "hot Jupiter" gas giants that orbit very close to their stars, have atmospheric temperatures of at least 1,000 kelvins.

Now if we can only see much smaller and colder planets orbiting more sun like stars that question of are we all alone out there may have a maybe not answered to it.

Palomar · 2005-04-02 06:52:51

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 … c.html]1st confirmed photo of an exoplanet

*...and its host star. I haven't seen this article yet posted elsewhere.

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-04-05 09:57:35

Well it would appear that chances are that some of the xeoplanets could habor life within there systems that they are in. So all we need to do is find an Earth sized planet...

[url=http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=3040] Good news for Goldilocks
Half of the known extrasolar planetary systems could harbor habitable Earths.[/url]

He and his colleagues are quick to point out that they did not try to determine if Earth-mass planets actually could form within these stars' habitable zones, but only if they could survive once formed. How readily earthlike planets form, they say, is an urgent question that needs further study.

Palomar · 2005-04-05 10:31:23

Well it would appear that chances are that some of the xeoplanets could habor life within there systems that they are in. So all we need to do is find an Earth sized planet...
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=3040] Good news for Goldilocks
Half of the known extrasolar planetary systems could harbor habitable Earths.

He and his colleagues are quick to point out that they did not try to determine if Earth-mass planets actually could form within these stars' habitable zones, but only if they could survive once formed. How readily earthlike planets form, they say, is an urgent question that needs further study.

*Seems to border on a positive form of alarmism, IMO. We've recently seen an article (which I posted to the "New Discoveries" thread) in which 4 out of 5 scientists are strongly inclined to believe systems like our own Solar System are exceedingly rare.

Most -- if not nearly all -- of what they are finding are hot-Jupiter types. Of course there's the issue of current technology and etc.

Frankly, I think they're jumping the gun on this issue and they're right in pointing this out:

He and his colleagues are quick to point out that they did not try to determine if Earth-mass planets actually could form within these stars' habitable zones

I hope they do find Earth-type planets in "Goldilocks Zones," of course. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-04-05 12:00:28

One of the missions that would search for far off Earth sized planets is the Kepler Mission to Find Earth-Like Planets Gets Green Light some what of a dated article.
We do have another thread here as well on the Dawn and Kepler missions.
I am sure, I gave the kepler website before in that other thread but here it is again.

Palomar · 2005-04-06 06:25:30

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 … c.html]1st confirmed photo of an exoplanet
*...and its host star. I haven't seen this article yet posted elsewhere.
--Cindy

*The above-linked article contains this small paragraph:

Earlier this month, astronomers announced the detection of a planet's infrared light using the Spitzer Space Telescope. But that observation did not involve a photograph. Instead, the system's total light was seen to drop when the planet was eclipsed by the star.

That planet has been dubbed HD 209458b. Here's an artists]http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050405.html]artist's illustration of HD 209458b and its Star.

Includes more detailed information as to how it was detected.

Also:

on an orbit around its parent star that was unexpectedly close to a circle.

Interesting, considering most orbits are elliptical in shape (which of course can vary).

--Cindy

SpaceNut · 2005-04-06 10:53:26

I have started noticing a few article of the same vain with regards to classification of the planet as a brown drawf star.

Exoplanet 'more likely to be brown dwarf'

The youth of the system was a crucial factor in identifying the possible planet. Because it is so young, the planet, which is between one and 42 times the mass of Jupiter, is relatively bright.
But not everyone is convinced. Jean Schneider, who maintains a catalogue of exoplanetary candidates at the Observatoire de Paris, notes: "The value of the mass, resting on planet models, is very uncertain and different with different models".
In other words: if the planet is one or two times Jupiter's mass, then we could be onto something. But if it is 42 times Jupiter's mass, we are more likely to be looking at a failed star, or brown dwarf, which would make GD Lup a binary system.

I guess if it is hot it must be a star or is it the size and distance that it is from the star that it circles that is giving them all the heart burn.

I am just glad that we can finally see something that might be even remotely a planet from here.

SpaceNut · 2005-06-02 10:15:23

Nice article in Theorist plots planet chase or at the very least what would be required and how long before we see Earth like planets orbiting distant suns.

The article grumbles about any funding of repair to Hubble and that it would detact from those probes and such that are in the planning stages for use in such discoveries.

A wopping 150 exoplanets have been found thus far but all are gas giants greater than jupiter and saturn combined.
The chances should be best looking close up at maybe the Bernhard's Star, one of our nearest neighbors. It is only six light-years away and a good candidate for finding a rocky planet where there's liquid water and an oxygen atmosphere as the article states.

Palomar · 2005-06-22 20:42:28

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … ]Exoplanet reshapes ring around Fomalhaut

*Is late and I'm about to get off-line. Wonderful article and photo.

(Fomalhaut is easily seen with the unaided eye in the autumn night-sky).

Wish I had more time to summarize a bit, but...enjoy!

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-06-23 05:07:26

http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … t-building proplyds

*Is an artist's rendition. Bits of info in the caption.

-*-

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961017.html]Similar item of interest from Astropix

Not the best photo of that proplyd I've seen, but the other (higher resolution) image isn't available at Astropix anymore, apparently. :hm:

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-06-30 04:17:37

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … 005]Gliese 86

*Is "in" the constellation Eridanus (The River), a binary, 35 light years from Earth (that's close). Its planet is as distant to it as Uranus from Sol. Article deals with planets being able to survive a star going through the red giant to white dwarf phase...however, the expectation is they'd have to be the distance of Jupiter from our Sun.

Of course they admit such planets might get a little scorched in the process. Or a lot...

The discovery marks the first time a planet has been found in the vicinity of a white dwarf, and could have implications for our own solar system - which will itself be centered around a white dwarf in a few billion years.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-01 07:06:35

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/extrasol … ]Exoplanet with largest solid core yet detected discovered

*Is considered the most important exoplanet discovery since the first exoplanet was discovered in 1995.

This planet orbits a Sol-like star named HD 149026. Like most found so far, it's a large planet (possessing a Saturn-like mass although is smaller in diameter) which dims its star's light when passing in front of it.

Its solid core is aprox 70 times Earth's mass. Orbit time is 2.87 days. Temperature of the planet's upper atmosphere is aprox 2000 F.

Gravitational instability and core accretion theories discussed.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-05 13:53:08

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010703.html]Large planets roaming freely in the cluster?

*Interesting. The article deals with gravitational lens effect, and is pertinent to this thread:

Unexpectedly, several stars near the Galactic center -- well behind M22 -- appeared to nearly double in brightness and return to normal within 20 hours. One hypothesis posed to explain these quick brightness changes is the gravitational lens effect of large planets roaming freely in the cluster.

M22 is aprox 50 l/y in diameter and is 8500 l/y distant from us. Further observations/studies pending.

(Spectacular starfield!)

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-08 19:42:18

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article … sp]Amateur astronomer discovers exoplanet!

*It's late, almost off-line for the night; quick run-down. Discovery on June 30 by R. Bissinger. HD 149026b, located 260 light years away "in" the constellation Hercules. He documented 3 partial transits of the exoplanet across its star (an 8th magnitude star).

Is the 3rd exoplanet discovered by an amateur astronomer. :up:

Congratulations to him/them.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-09 06:37:55

Barnards]http://www.spacedaily.com/news/extrasolar-05zk.html]Barnard's Star Blunder

*Interesting history here, and the recounting of a "scientific snafu."

Note the last paragraph regarding Barnard's Star's main role today. :laugh:

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-12 05:18:22

http://www.jupitertoday.com/news/viewsr … 549]Warped debris disc of HD 100546

*Interesting abstract. PDF format is the one I use.

One possible explanation for the corrugated disk is that precession was induced by massive of bodies embedded in the disk at larger radius. This would require approximately a Jupiter mass of bodies well outside the central clearing at 13 AU and within the location of the spiral features or at radii approximately between 50-200 AU.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-14 05:10:02

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/extrasolar-05zm.html]1st planet under THREE SUNS discovered

*Is a Jupiter-class planet. The main star in this triple system is Sol-like; the larger is orange and the smaller is red. The system is "in" the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan). Discovery credited to CalTech, with use of 10 meter Keck I 'scope in Hawaii.

The triple star system has been named HD 188753. It is a mere 149 light years from us. Its stars average a distance of Sol to Saturn from one another (aprox 9.5 AU).

The planet's "year" is only 3-1/2 days in length. Astronomers particularly amazed at this discovery, considering all the complications (gravity, etc.) of such a setting to a planet.

Says the stars in the triple system would all appear large to an observer on that planet. I can only imagine. Mind-boggling to consider, certainly would be very beautiful.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-18 21:43:17

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … stronomers debate whether oldest-known dust disk...

*...will ever form planets. I was going to put this in the New Discoveries #5 thread, but figured perhaps it belongs here instead.

This is so cool. They've discovered a 25 million year old dust disk which shows no evidence of planet formation. Okay, why did I post this here? Please read on...

"Finding this disk is as unexpected as locating a 200-year-old person," said astronomer Lee Hartmann

The discovery raises the puzzling question of why this disk has not formed planets despite its advanced age. Most protoplanetary disks last only a few million years, while the oldest previously known disks have ages of about 10 million years.

The old dust disk is aprox 350 l/y distant, "in" the constellation Taurus. It surrounds a pair of red dwarf stars in the Stephenson 34 system. The disk's inner edge is aprox 65 million miles distant from the binaries; the disk extends to a distance of roughly 650 million miles.

"Most stars, by the age of 10 million years, have done whatever they're going to do," said Hartmann. "If it hasn't made planets by now, it probably never will."
Calvet disagreed. "This disk still has a lot of gas in it, so it may still form giant planets."

How intriguing.

"The disk looks a lot different than most other disks we've seen. This disk looks a lot more evolved than those around younger stars," said Hartmann.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-21 05:01:29

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … 2]Dustiest star could harbor a young "Earth"

*This star, dubbed BD +20 307, is 300 l/y distant. It possesses the dustiest environment yet seen around such a close Sol-like star, and so soon after its formation. The dust is warm, and is thought to have resulted from recent collisions of rocky bodies in distances comparable to Earth - Sol.

"We were lucky. This set of observations is like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack," said Inseok Song, the Gemini Observatory astronomer who led the U.S.-based research team. "The dust we detected is exactly what we would expect from collisions of rocky asteroids or even planet-sized objects, and to find this dust so close to a star like our Sun bumps the significance way up. However, I can't help but think that astronomers will now find more average stars where collisions like these have occurred."

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-08-05 05:50:50

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010502.html]Planet building in HD 100546

*Found this while fishing around in Astropix. The star in question can be seen via binoculars. It's "towards" a southern constellation named Musca, and is aprox 335 l/y distant.

This star has a huge debris disk containing perhaps 100 billion boulders. Planet formation is likely occurring. Says if our Earth were in this environment, the sky would be constantly lit with meteor streaks and the ground would continually rumble from impacts.

The bright light and six-pointed diffraction spikes from the central star have been removed from the false-color image.

Cool.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-08-08 07:17:17

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/extrasolar-05zm.html]1st planet under THREE SUNS discovered
*Is a Jupiter-class planet. The main star in this triple system is Sol-like; the larger is orange and the smaller is red. The system is "in" the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan). Discovery credited to CalTech, with use of 10 meter Keck I 'scope in Hawaii.
The triple star system has been named HD 188753. It is a mere 149 light years from us. Its stars average a distance of Sol to Saturn from one another (aprox 9.5 AU).
The planet's "year" is only 3-1/2 days in length. Astronomers particularly amazed at this discovery, considering all the complications (gravity, etc.) of such a setting to a planet.
Says the stars in the triple system would all appear large to an observer on that planet. I can only imagine. Mind-boggling to consider, certainly would be very beautiful.
--Cindy

*And here's a much larger version of the artist's depiction:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050805.html]Wish it were a photo

Nice.

--Cindy

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#1 2004-09-10 18:01:55

Re: Exoplanet imaged?!

#2 2004-09-10 20:08:31

Re: Exoplanet imaged?!

#3 2004-09-10 23:55:53

Re: Exoplanet imaged?!

#4 2005-02-15 11:35:33

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#5 2005-03-23 06:46:07

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#6 2005-04-02 06:52:51

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#7 2005-04-05 09:57:35

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#8 2005-04-05 10:31:23

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#9 2005-04-05 12:00:28

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#10 2005-04-06 06:25:30

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#11 2005-04-06 10:53:26

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#12 2005-06-02 10:15:23

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#13 2005-06-22 20:42:28

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#14 2005-06-23 05:07:26

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#15 2005-06-30 04:17:37

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#16 2005-07-01 07:06:35

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#17 2005-07-05 13:53:08

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#18 2005-07-08 19:42:18

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#19 2005-07-09 06:37:55

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