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Post by sherlew (Ret) on May 13, 2009 13:07:21 GMT -6
The first planets outside our solar system were spotted in 1990, in orbit around a dying, radiation-spewing star very different from our Sun. In the years since, scientists have turned up even stranger worlds. Starting in 1995 with 51 Pegasi b, the first extrasolar, or exoplanet, discovered around a normal star, planet hunters have found alien worlds that run the gamut in terms of diversity. There are large, gassy giants and small and rocky worlds. Some are two-faced worlds of fire and ice, and some float eerily through space, bound to no star. In the dozen years since the discovery of 51 Pegasi b, the number of known and suspected exoplanets has climbed to nearly 230. Here are some record holders and oddballs. Ker Than Top 10 Most Intriguing Extrasolar Planets |
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Post by Tomspy77 on May 13, 2009 22:14:39 GMT -6
This is pretty cool information..
The Closest Palnet:
Epsilon Eridani b orbits an orange Sun-like star only 10.5 light years away from Earth. It is so close to us telescopes might soon be able to photograph it. It orbits too far away from its star to support liquid water or life as we know it, but scientists predict there are other stars in the system that might be good candidates for alien life.
SWEEPS-10 orbits its parent star from a distance of only 740,000 miles, so close that one year on the planet happens every 10 hours. The exoplanet belongs to a new class of zippy exoplanets called ultra-short-period planets (USPPs), which have orbits of less than a day.
A year on HD209458b is only 3.5 Earth-days long. The planet orbits so close to its star that its atmosphere is being blown away by gales of stellar wind. Scientists estimate the planet is losing at least 10,000 tons of material every second. Eventually, only a dead core of the shrinking planet will remain.
Gliese 581 C marked a milestone in the search for worlds beyond our solar system. It is the smallest exoplanet ever detected, and the first to lie within the habitable zone of its parent star, thus raising the possibility that its surface could sustain liquid water, or even life. It is 50 percent bigger and 5 times more massive than Earth.
I used to love astronomy as a kid, used to try to read all the magazines, and checked books out from the library about the subject, so that was some pretty good stuff there.
I have seen that site before, I forget how, and had meant to do some browsing there, but as with many things when real life comes a calling, never got round to it.
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Post by sherlew (Ret) on May 14, 2009 7:54:50 GMT -6
Glad you enjoyed this one. Astronomy is a pretty fascinating subject. I wonder how the repair work on the Hubble is going. Hope they can get it fixed.
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