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Science Astronomical first: Hubble sees an exosolar planet!
Science Astronomical first: Hubble sees an exosolar planet! | Astronomical first: Hubble sees an exosolar planet! |
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| by Stephen Withers | |
| Friday, 14 November 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 Photographs taken by Hubble in 2004 showed a few light sources that astronomers thought could possibly be planets.Featured Whitepaper
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Science DiscussionsThe object is moving in a path around the star, and the change in its position implies an orbit of 872 years. "Our Hubble observations were incredibly demanding. Fomalhaut b is one billion times fainter than the star. We began this program in 2001, and our persistence finally paid off," said Hubble astronomer Paul Kalas, of the University of California at Berkeley. Planned infrared observations of the planet - possibly using the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope - will look for evidence of water vapour in the atmosphere. Want to see an image of Fomalhaut showing the planet? NASA is offering one here. If you're a star watcher, Fomalhaut is in the constellation Piscis Austrinus (Southern Fish). Another image from NASA's web site might help you located it. |
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