prog: ("The Sixth Finger" guy)
[personal profile] prog
Phil Plait reports on an unconfirmed image from a Hawaiian telescope that appears to show a planet in orbit around a remote yellow star. Whoa.

We've been discovering extrasolar planets for many years now, but unless I'm mistaken, we have yet to actually snap a discrete piccie of one. This would be hella cool.

Edit OK, was msitaken: we've shot a planet around a brown dwarf before. But yellow stars are more exciting.

Date: 2008-09-15 08:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] radtea.livejournal.com
Truly wonderful. If it really is a planet the large distance from the primary strongly suggests the presence of another super-giant in the system.

I remember when the possibility of imaging the disk of a star was considered to be moonshine. Now it's pretty routine. I fully expect that by the time I'm old and grey we'll be imaging the disks of extra-solar planets, probably using some huge-ass space-based interferometric array.

What a great time to be alive.

Date: 2008-09-15 09:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] chocorisu.livejournal.com
Dang, that's mind-boggling.

Date: 2008-09-15 11:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prog.livejournal.com
Thank you.

FYCrSJtFJEkuANAb

Date: 2008-09-17 04:29 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
90y3hZ gki8Tvqq3PngJ02lH

Re: FYCrSJtFJEkuANAb

Date: 2008-09-23 04:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prog.livejournal.com
Thank you.

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