Do you really want an answer to that?!!
Posted on 09/15/2008 4:41:30 AM PDT by LibWhacker
This is good news for Hollywood elites and other liberals looking for someplace to go, after the elections.
If the mass of the star is the same as the sun’s, the orbital period would be about 6,000 years, so it would take a long time to see any change in the relative orientation of the two bodies, about sixteen years for one degree of orbital motion.
What impresses me is the dynamic range of the sensor. If the smaller body has about the same density and reflectivity as Jupiter, the brightness of the two objects differs by about fourteen orders of magnitude (100000000000000x). For comparison, the dimmest naked eye stars differ in brightness from the sun by about thirteen orders of magnitude. This is like photographing a dim star next to the sun.
The spot size of the star is obviously limited by diffraction, the outter edges of the image demarcating the point were the diffraction pattern drops into the noise. It’s an amazing picture.
I believe the instrument used was the Keck telescope. Not sure anymore, though.
Mass, or size? I don't think they really want to equate mass and size.
Where didn't Captain Kirk get laid?
Astronomers (and astrologers) have been looking "out there" for centuries and more - and we've JUST NOW found what we hope is another planet???
There are so many stars it defies any attempt to count them and we can't find a single planet outside our solar system (until now - if this is really a planet)??? Dang, just dang.
We can split atoms but can't find a planet. No offense to those in the field but, man, I'm glad I didn't go into astronomy - sounds depressingly slow.
LOL!
Haha! That's funny, I don't care who you are!
Finding or photographing, is a veeeeeeeeery, veeeeeeeery difficult problem given the immense distances and feeble light reflected in our direction by these planets.
It's going to get real exciting in coming years as there are now enormous telescopes on the drawing board that'll actually allow us to see surface details on earth-sized planets out to several hundred light years.
So if you're glad you didn't go into astronomy before now, but are looking for an exciting career change, now would be the time to make the switch!
It's not going to be slow much longer. In fact, it's picking up very nicely as we speak. :-)
Do you really want an answer to that?!!
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