by APOD Robot » Sun Jul 04, 2010 4:04 am
Companion of a Young, Sun-like Star Confirmed
Explanation: The first direct image of an extrasolar planet orbiting a star similar to our Sun has been confirmed. Located just 500 light-years away toward the constellation
Scorpius, the parent star, cataloged as 1RXS J160929.1-210524, is only slightly less massive and a little cooler than
the Sun. The star is, however, much younger, a few
million years old compared to the middle-aged Sun's 5
billion years.
This sharp infrared image shows the young star's planetary companion positioned above and left of center. The
planet is estimated to have a mass about 8 times the mass of Jupiter, and orbit a whopping 330 times the Earth-Sun
distance from its parent star. The young planetary companion is still hot and relatively bright in
infrared light, likely due to the heat generated during its
formation by gravitational contraction. In fact, such newborn
planets are easier to detect before they age and cool and become much more faint. The
discovery image,
shown above, was taken in 2008 but
confirmed only recently by
noting that the planet stayed with its parent star as background stars slightly shifted over time.
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[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100704.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_100704.jpg[/img] [size=150]Companion of a Young, Sun-like Star Confirmed[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] The first direct image of an extrasolar planet orbiting a star similar to our Sun has been confirmed. Located just 500 light-years away toward the constellation [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080508.html]Scorpius[/url], the parent star, cataloged as 1RXS J160929.1-210524, is only slightly less massive and a little cooler than [url=http://www.nineplanets.org/sol.html]the Sun[/url]. The star is, however, much younger, a few [url=http://kokogiak.com/megapenny/six.asp]million[/url] years old compared to the middle-aged Sun's 5 [url=http://kokogiak.com/megapenny/nine.asp]billion[/url] years. [url=http://www.gemini.edu/sunstarplanet]This sharp infrared image[/url] shows the young star's planetary companion positioned above and left of center. The [url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=18000]planet[/url] is estimated to have a mass about 8 times the mass of Jupiter, and orbit a whopping 330 times the Earth-Sun [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap981212.html]distance[/url] from its parent star. The young planetary companion is still hot and relatively bright in [url=http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/cosmic_reference/whatisir.html]infrared[/url] light, likely due to the heat generated during its [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_formation#Giant_planets]formation[/url] by gravitational contraction. In fact, such newborn [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080521.html]planets[/url] are easier to detect before they age and cool and become much more faint. The [url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008ApJ...689L.153L]discovery[/url] image, [url=http://www.gemini.edu/sunstarplanet]shown above[/url], was taken in 2008 but [url=http://www.gemini.edu/node/11486]confirmed only recently[/url] by [url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010arXiv1006.3070L]noting[/url] that the planet stayed with its parent star as background stars slightly shifted over time.
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