spacetoday.net: space news from around the webin association with SpaceNews


Astronomers find Jupiter- and Saturn-like exoplanets around distant star
Posted: Fri, Feb 15, 2008, 7:28 AM ET (1228 GMT)
Illustration of mini Jupiter and Saturn (OSU) 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.
<<previous article   next article>>
news in brief
EU moves forward with satellite broadband constellation
Posted: Sun, Nov 3 10:02 AM ET (1502 GMT)

Russia launches military satellite
Posted: Sun, Nov 3 9:59 AM ET (1459 GMT)

Lockheed Martin completes acquisition of Terran Orbital
Posted: Sun, Nov 3 9:57 AM ET (1457 GMT)

news links
Tuesday, November 5
SpaceX Cargo Dragon Heads To Space Station
Aviation Week — 5:52 am ET (1052 GMT)


about spacetoday.net   ·   info@spacetoday.net   ·   mailing list