Exoplanets - Are we SURE?

[douglas_clark]

Is there any debate within the astronomical community about the validity of this? Replys in the positive would make me a lot happier about some comments I've made elsewhere.<br /><br />douglas

 

[adzel_3000]

DC,<br /><br />Most of the planetary systems of other stars discovered to date seem rather exotic, based against our prior calibration or standard (i.e.: what we all grew up knowing about the one model available, the Solar System). Many of the new exoplanets are multi-jovian mass bodies that are either very close to their parent star or on rather eccentric orbits, or both. To date, there has not been a hit: the discovery of another star system with a “topography” like our own (a Jupiter-like object in a Jupiter-like orbit). <br /><br />You should be happy as this fact has indeed raised more than one eyebrow among astronomers. Right up until 1995 the typical view (based again on that one data point) was that our own Solar System is the logical final product of the evolution of a circumsolar disk of dust. <br /><br />Question is: was everybody wrong, and is our solar system a rare gem? <br /><br />A recent study by astronomers suggests that Jupiter may be a run of the mill massive planet and due to the fact that (at present) all the radial-velocity measurements either do not have the sensitivity or targets haven't observed long enough to detect an exo-Jupiter at approximately 5AU from its parent star on a 12-year-orbit. <br /><br />Things are changing and more data can be good data. There have been quite a few exoplanet discoveries and a crude graph would show a trend for a plot of minimum mass vs. orbital period. As one moves closer to the current detection limit, there is a growing overabundance of exoplanets with low masses and long orbital periods. The researchers extrapolated from that trend and are suggesting that extra-solar worlds with a mass of one Jupiter are perhaps more common than the larger super-jovians.<br /><br />So, wait a few more years and your question may be answered….<br /><br />Clear Skies!<br />--A3K<br /><br />

 

[toymaker]

"To date, there has not been a hit: the discovery of another star system with a “topography” like our own (a Jupiter-like object in a Jupiter-like orbit)."<br />There has been :<br />http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/planet_discovery_020613.html<br />"A team of astronomers announced today the discovery of the first planet outside our solar system with an orbit similar to Jupiter's, a configuration that has the potential to support an Earth-like planet.<br /><br />They also found the least massive world ever detected around another star, a planet just 40 times as heavy as Earth.<br /><br />The primary discovery is a gas giant planet that circles a star called 55 Cancri every 13 years, comparable to Jupiter's 11.86-year orbit. The planet is between 3.5 and 5 times as heavy as Jupiter.<br /><br />"It's the first extrasolar planet that reminds us of a planet in our solar system," lead researcher Geoffrey Marcy said in an interview with SPACE.com several days prior to the announcement. "<br /><br />Not blaming you. With so many planets these days being discovered one can get lost !<br />...and looking forward to the future <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />

 

[Saiph]

douglas:<br /><br />There isn't much debate about the existence of the exoplanets. Merely some of the characteristics and origins.<br /><br />And people have looked. A few planets are removed every now and again. One was actually (we believe) a really, really big sunspot on the star (the star and planet had the same period....made people suspicious). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[adzel_3000]

This improves the trendline!<br /><br />This is near the Beehive, if I remember. Do you know if any other teams have done a "confirmation.?" I think Doyle, HJ Deeg, and Ninkov were supposed to do a follow-on, but they are mostly photometric survey folks (Doyle and company did similar work on CM Drac but they had no success in making an actual detection).<br /><br />Promising!