An infrared image has been released by Canadian astronomers showing a planet circling a star similar to our own Sun, the first time such an event has been detected.
Using the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea in Hawaii, three scientists from the University of Toronto have taken the images of the star "1RXS J160929.1-210524", and a possible companion orbiting planet just 500 light years from Earth.
The only previous discoveries of exoplanets have been either freestanding (not circling a star) or those that orbit the comparatively dim brown dwarfs, which make planetary companion detection easier, the team said in a press release.
“This is the first time we have directly seen a planetary mass object in a likely orbit around a star like our Sun,” said David Lafrenière, lead author of a paper submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters. “If we confirm that this object is indeed gravitationally tied to the star, it will be a major step forward.”
The planet is estimated to have a mass around eight times that of Jupiter, our solar system's largest planet. The team have said the planet, if it is indeed orbiting its star, orbits around 330 times as far from its star as the Earth is from the Sun.
This distance has surprised the scientists and challenged some preconceptions, said Ray Jayawardhana, team member and author of a forthcoming book on extrasolar planets entitled 'Worlds Beyond'.
"This discovery is yet another reminder of the truly remarkable diversity of worlds out there, and it's a strong hint that nature may have more than one mechanism for producing planetary mass companions to normal stars," he said in a press release.
Lafrenière said evidence was strong that the planetary object was orbiting the star, though he added that further observations would be necessary.
"Of course it would be premature to say that the object is definitely orbiting this star, but the evidence is extremely compelling. This will be a very intensely studied object for the next few years!" he enthused.
Using the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea in Hawaii, three scientists from the University of Toronto have taken the images of the star "1RXS J160929.1-210524", and a possible companion orbiting planet just 500 light years from Earth.
The only previous discoveries of exoplanets have been either freestanding (not circling a star) or those that orbit the comparatively dim brown dwarfs, which make planetary companion detection easier, the team said in a press release.
“This is the first time we have directly seen a planetary mass object in a likely orbit around a star like our Sun,” said David Lafrenière, lead author of a paper submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters. “If we confirm that this object is indeed gravitationally tied to the star, it will be a major step forward.”
The planet is estimated to have a mass around eight times that of Jupiter, our solar system's largest planet. The team have said the planet, if it is indeed orbiting its star, orbits around 330 times as far from its star as the Earth is from the Sun.
This distance has surprised the scientists and challenged some preconceptions, said Ray Jayawardhana, team member and author of a forthcoming book on extrasolar planets entitled 'Worlds Beyond'.
"This discovery is yet another reminder of the truly remarkable diversity of worlds out there, and it's a strong hint that nature may have more than one mechanism for producing planetary mass companions to normal stars," he said in a press release.
Lafrenière said evidence was strong that the planetary object was orbiting the star, though he added that further observations would be necessary.
"Of course it would be premature to say that the object is definitely orbiting this star, but the evidence is extremely compelling. This will be a very intensely studied object for the next few years!" he enthused.
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