Exoplanets finally come into view [ WOW! ]

BBC News ^ | Thursday, November 13, 2008 | unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

Three exoplanets orbiting the same star have been imaged directly

[SunkenCiv]

A to-scale comparison of the HR 8799 system and our own planets (the inner four planets are not shown.)

[SunkenCiv]

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[BlueStateBlues]

Very nice, thanks for posting. They should name them Heinlein, Burroughs and Bradbury.

[KevinDavis]

[Brett66]

Ok, they found two different star systems with planets. HR8799 and Fomalhaut. HR8799 is the one in the image found with the Keck and Gemini telescope.

[cripplecreek]

In another 10 or 15 years we’ll be getting a good look at exoplanets if the imaging technology contuinues to improve it it’s current rate.

[SunkenCiv]

Fomalhaut

[JoeProBono]

The exoplanet HD222582 b as seen from its moon (maybe)

[SunkenCiv]

Agreed, but quibbling, because I don’t think it’ll take that long. By this time next year we’re likely to see photos of a couple of dozen exoplanets / exosystems:

Hundred of Planets
by South Jersey News Online
Sunday November 02, 2008, 8:05 AM
By Keith Johnson
http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2008/11/hundred_of_planets.html

“you can’t see exoplanets themselves, but there are about three dozen of the parent stars that are visible to the naked eye”

[KevinDavis]

What would be really cool if we could go there. NOW...

[aWolverine]

Dibs on the Class M!

[SunkenCiv]

:’) I’m amazed at how nice the results are from current software-assisted artists.

My personal favorite, maybe yours too:

http://www.digitalblasphemy.com/

Check also the user gallery there, along with his freebies, and his favorite links to other such sites.

[SunkenCiv]

You'll have to fight me for 'em.

[SunkenCiv]

[cue the Jerry Goldsmith theme from TOS]

[martin_fierro]

Close-up.

[aWolverine]

What would be really cool if we could go there. NOW...

We're working on it:

[SunkenCiv]

three more (there are over 300)

• Astronomers snap first photos of 'exoplanets'
• First sighting: Planets are seen outside the Solar System
• Out of this World Pictures: First Direct Photos of Exoplanets

[aWolverine]

Extreme close up:

[aWolverine]

You'll have to fight me for 'em.

Bring it, Earther!

[KevinDavis]

and they tell us about a top secret operation going on in Cheyenne Mountain that has a gate that could transport people between planets in a few seconds..

[Red Steel]

Wow is right. And only 25 light years away.

But advances in optics and image processing have allowed astronomers to effectively subtract the bright light from stars, leaving behind light from the planets. That light can either come in the infrared, caused by the planets' heat, or be reflected starlight.

It's about time these guys have figured this out. With this technique, we should start seeing millions of planets...I think. :-).

Good find SunkCiv!

[cripplecreek]

By this time next year we’re likely to see photos of a couple of dozen exoplanets / exosystems:

Without a doubt. Actually I'm talking about far more detailed images along the lines of the planetary pgotos we get with Hubbel.

[aWolverine]

and they tell us about a top secret operation going on in Cheyenne Mountain that has a gate that could transport people between planets in a few seconds..

That's a bedtime cover story for children. The real deal?



Recovered saucer:

[SunkenCiv]

exoplanet image search:

Google

[SunkenCiv]

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. :’)

[SunkenCiv]

It's hip to be square.

Google

[SunkenCiv]

Vulcan horn-dog!

[SunkenCiv]

Sure, but we’ve probably found all the exoplanets there are to find. Now we need to start to bring hope and peace to the people of the world. ;’)

[SunkenCiv]

That too. :’) More and better capacity is becoming available all the time. Hubble, though, won’t be surpassed for a good while yet.

[The Cajun]

Vulcan horn-dog!

Naw, caption should be "Come any closer at your own peril Mr. Sulu!"

[reg45]

We should search there for 0bama’s birth certificate.

[cripplecreek]

Amok Time fight scene

Some of the greatest TV music of all time too. I love the look on Kirk's face. "Holy crap, he's not screwing around."

[cripplecreek]

And now for something completely different. LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NJQvswrSPg

[aWolverine]

Some of the greatest TV music of all time too. I love the look on Kirk's face. "Holy crap, he's not screwing around."

William Shatner is just friggin' cool, as an actor but more importantly, as a human being. But since I don't have any footage of him being a human being, here's a great Denny Crane portrayal.

[SunkenCiv]

LOL!

[AmericanVictory]

We believe it has been exorcised.

[cripplecreek]

Shatner morphed into a pretty good comedian once he learned to laugh at himself.

William Shatner Does Seven

[anymouse]

aWolverine - Since Nov 11, 2008

That you John Podesta? :)

[dragnet2]

Only a matter of time until we find an earth like planet right in our own galaxy IMO. I'm always looking..lol

I took this image of M-1 Crab Nebula on 11/6/08. 18 images at 30 seconds each, combined, stacked, and processed in PSCS3. The image is the remnants of an exploded star at approximately 6,300 light years out. The explosion covers a distance of about 10 light years in diameter. (Big explosion).

(From Seds.org) The Crab Nebula, Messier 1 (M1, NGC 1952), is the most famous and conspicuous known supernova remnant, the expanding cloud of gas created in the explosion of a star as supernova which was observed in the year 1054 AD. It shines as a nebula of magnitude 8.4 near the southern "horn" of Taurus, the Bull.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

bkmark

[ConfidentConservative]

I wish!

[wastedyears]

Yeah, and leave all the Liberals here to mess it up however they want.

[wastedyears]

So THAT’s where all the Liberals come from, Bizarro World.

[RJR_fan]

My parents invested in those "All About..." books almost a half=century ago. All About the Stars asserted with dogmatic certainty, proven by the numbers, that we would never be able to see, let alone visit, exosolar planets.

Granted, we still have plenty of room for aspiration and achievement within our own solar system. Since, however, the end of the age is at least 36,000 years away,[1] I thank my Creator for providing plenty of room for expansion beyond the immediately doable.

---

[1] 100 generations ago, 4,000 years ago, God promised Moses a display of His mercies that would endure for a thousand generations -- 40,000 years. 36,000 to go. See, dispensational doomsayers aren't the only Christians who can play with numbers! At least I refuse to serve as an unpaid cheerleader for the other team!