Possible First Photo of an Exoplanet

[derekmcd]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Thanks Derekmcd just finished reading the pdf - should clear up the arguement nicely... <br /> Posted by lildreamer</DIV></p><p>Seems the only real argument is whether it is gravitationally bound to the star or not.&nbsp; They appear confident is it, but reserve making that claim until further measurement can be taken.&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[3488]

<p><font size="2"><strong>Thank you Derek & A L P.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>I am convinced now that this IS a real object & is NOT an imaging artifact.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>Lets hope that the Hubble ACS & the Spitzer will also join in next Summer, along with more ground based telescopes with AO when this object will be at opposition, to carry out further obs.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>Fascinating stuff, a 5 million year old super Jupiter, no wonder it's so bloody hot, with the contraction still occuring as well as accretional heat.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>Thanks Wayne for starting this & I apologize to Wayne for my initial scepticism, it was unfounded.</strong></font></p><p><font size="2"><strong>Andrew Brown.&nbsp;</strong></font></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[l3p3r]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'><br /> Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV><br />What a great picture! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[paulscottanderson]

<p><span style="font-size:small" class="Apple-style-span">I noted that the article states this is the first planet photographed around a sun-like star, and the previous ones were around dwarf stars. But, according to the previous Space.com article linked to in this one, the star GQ Lupi where that planet was photographed in 2005, is also a sun-like star:</span></p><p><span style="font-size:small" class="Apple-style-span">http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/050430_exoplanet_image.html</span></p><p><span style="font-size:small" class="Apple-style-span">The previous reported planet 2M1207b though, from 2004, does orbit a brown dwarf.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:small" class="Apple-style-span">It just seems then that this is actually the second planet reported photographed around a sun-like star, not the first.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:small" class="Apple-style-span">This article from <span style="font-style:italic" class="Apple-style-span">New Scientist</span> helps clarify things though, indicating that it is still not known for certain yet the mass of the object orbiting GQ Lupi (it might itself be a brown dwarf):</span></p><p><span style="font-size:small" class="Apple-style-span">http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn14737-astronomers-image-planet-around-sunlike-star.html</span></p><p><span style="font-size:small" class="Apple-style-span">This new object though, is said to be about 8 times the mass of Jupiter, so almost certainly a planet in this case, as far as we know right now.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:small" class="Apple-style-span">Paul</span></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="1"><span style="font-weight:bold" class="Apple-style-span">-----------------</span></font></p><p><font size="1"><span style="font-weight:bold" class="Apple-style-span">The Meridiani Journal</span><br />a chronicle of planetary exploration<br />web.me.com/meridianijournal</font> </p> </div>