|
Wednesday January 13, 2010
|
Astronomers have directly detected the light signature of a planet orbiting another sun-like star for the first time, according to Space.com.
The planet is about 10 times as massive as Jupiter, and orbits between two other giant planets--all of which circle around HR 8799, a very young star about 130 light-years from Earth.
The finding is significant not just for historical and planet discovery reasons, but also because the light signature can tell scientists the chemical makeup of the planet--which would lead to an understanding of how the planet was formed.
To find the planet, the team of astronomers used a ground-based telescope: the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile. In the future, the report said the light signatures could help scientists figure out which planets could support life. (Image credit: ESO/HR 8799)
|
|
|
Mixx It
Digg It
Stumble
More...
January 13, 2010 11:31 PM
Very cool! That's a very very massive gas giant: I wonder why (maybe it just didn't hit critical mass) it didn't turn into a star of its own - whether its mass just didn't get high enough to start nuclear fusion at its core.
In any event, discoveries like this can help us understand, and help us understand how our own sun works too!