Astronomers find Jupiter- and Saturn-like exoplanets around distant star
Posted: Fri, Feb 15, 2008, 7:28 AM ET (1228 GMT)
A collaboration of professional and amateur astronomers has discovered two exoplanets, smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn, orbiting a distant star. Astronomers used a technique called microlensing, where the gravity of an intervening object acts as a magnifying lens, briefly brightening a more distant object. The two planets were detected as "blips" during a microlensing event when their star, 5,000 light-years from Earth, passed in front of a more distant star. The two planets are about 80 percent the size of Jupiter and Saturn, and astronomers said the overall solar system is a smaller analog of our own solar system.
A collaboration of professional and amateur astronomers has discovered two exoplanets, smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn, orbiting a distant star. Astronomers used a technique called microlensing, where the gravity of an intervening object acts as a magnifying lens, briefly brightening a more distant object. The two planets were detected as "blips" during a microlensing event when their star, 5,000 light-years from Earth, passed in front of a more distant star. The two planets are about 80 percent the size of Jupiter and Saturn, and astronomers said the overall solar system is a smaller analog of our own solar system.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, October 29
Firefly’s SciTec Achieves Operational Milestone for U.S. Space Force FORGE System
Firefly Aerospace — 4:20 am ET (0820 GMT) The US space industry will suffer for Ukraine’s Starlink outage, experts say
Defense One — 4:19 am ET (0819 GMT) Astroscale Awarded £15 million MOD Contract as UK Government Strengthens Focus on Resilience in Space
Astroscale — 4:17 am ET (0817 GMT) Pentagon Watchdog Declines to Probe Ukraine Intel, Starlink Cuts
Bloomberg News — 4:17 am ET (0817 GMT) On-orbit services firm secures £15m MOD contract for new space defence programme
Insider Media — 4:15 am ET (0815 GMT) |
