Posted on 07/03/2003 10:22:13 AM PDT by RightWhale
Astronomers find 'home from home' - 90 light years away!
Astronomers looking for planetary systems that resemble our own solar system have found the most similar formation so far. British astronomers, working with Australian and American colleagues, have discovered a planet like Jupiter in orbit round a nearby star that is very like our own Sun. Among the hundred found so far, this system is the one most similar to our Solar System. The planet's orbit is like that of Jupiter in our own Solar System, especially as it is nearly circular and there are no bigger planets closer in to its star.
"This planet is going round in a nearly circular orbit three-fifths the size of our own Jupiter. This is the closest we have yet got to a real Solar System-like planet, and advances our search for systems that are even more like our own," said UK team leader Hugh Jones of Liverpool John Moores University.
The planet was discovered using the 3.9-metre Anglo-Australian Telescope [AAT] in New South Wales, Australia. The discovery, which is part of a large search for solar systems that resemble our own, will be announced today (Thursday, July 3rd 2003) by Hugh Jones (Liverpool John Moores University) at a conference on "Extrasolar Planets: Today and Tomorrow" in Paris, France.
"It is the exquisite precision of our measurements that lets us search for these Jupiters - they are harder to find than the more exotic planets found so far. Perhaps most stars will be shown to have planets like our own Solar System", said Dr Alan Penny, from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
The new planet, which has a mass about twice that of Jupiter, circles its star (HD70642) about every six years. HD70642 can be found in the constellation Puppis and is about 90 light years away from Earth. The planet is 3.3 times further from its star as the Earth is from the Sun (about halfway between Mars and Jupiter if it were in our own system).
The long-term goal of this programme is the detection of true analogues to the Solar System: planetary systems with giant planets in long circular orbits and small rocky planets on shorter circular orbits. This discovery of a -Jupiter- like gas giant planet around a nearby star is a step toward this goal. The discovery of other such planets and planetary satellites within the next decade will help astronomers assess the Solar System's place in the galaxy and whether planetary systems like our own are common or rare.
Prior to the discovery of extrasolar planets, planetary systems were generally predicted to be similar to the Solar System - giant planets orbiting beyond 4 Earth-Sun distances in circular orbits, and terrestrial mass planets in inner orbits. The danger of using theoretical ideas to extrapolate from just one example - our own Solar System - has been shown by the extrasolar planetary systems now known to exist which have very different properties. Planetary systems are much more diverse than ever imagined.
However these new planets have only been found around one-tenth of stars where they were looked for. It is possible that the harder-to-find very Solar System-like planets do exist around most stars.
The vast majority of the presently known extrasolar planets lie in elliptical orbits, which would preclude the existence of habitable terrestrial planets. Previously, the only gas giant found to orbit beyond 3 Earth-Sun distances in a near circular orbit was the outer planet of the 47 Ursa Majoris system - a system which also includes an inner gas giant at 2 Earth-Sun distances (unlike the Solar System). This discovery of a 3.3 Earth-Sun distance planet in a near circular orbit around a Sun-like star bears the closest likeness to our Solar System found to date and demonstrates our searches are precise enough to find Jupiter- like planets in Jupiter-like orbit.
To find evidence of planets, the astronomers use a high- precision technique developed by Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institute of Washington and Geoff Marcy of the University of California at Berkeley to measure how much a star "wobbles" in space as it is affected by a planet's gravity. As an unseen planet orbits a distant star, the gravitational pull causes the star to move back and forth in space. That wobble can be detected by the 'Doppler shifting' it causes in the star's light. This discovery demonstrates that the long term precision of the team's technique is 3 metres per second (7mph) making the Anglo-Australian Planet Search at least as precise as any of the many planet search projects underway.
I tried to show him where his argument was ridiculous, and so have others, we have made some excellent points, but he will NOT admit that it is a silly assertion because his structure is too rigid.
It really is too bad, because as long as he continues with his behavior, there will be no adult conversation from YOUR side.
If attacked we attack back, he starts them, and we join the fray.
It is like a bunch of people debating in a bar, then some big ape walks in the room and starts yelling insults, those that agree with him, back him up, no matter how wrong he is, and those of us that are attacked, attack back.
ALS is the big ape that walks into the bar and starts the brawl.
The debate is civil UNTIL he adds his insults to the thread, then it gets out of control.
It is there for all to see, the examples are there, and when the thread gets deleted, he gets to start all over again, as if it NEVER happened, because all of a sudden there is NO proof. Interesting that.
If you can keep ALS civil, I guarantee the conversation will remain civil. SO leash him up, and watch what happens.
You seem to be the ONLY one he will listen to.
I wonder if he will now send me a threatening E-mail, TELLING me to leave you alone?
YOU just let a CIVIL conversation turn EXTREMELY ugly. Should i click "abuse" on YOU? maybe I will. By YOUR standards..I would be rightous.
His argument may be ridiculous TO YOU, but in the arena of DEBATE, there are 2 SIDES.
YOUR side drew first blood in THIS thread. Where is your outrage? Can you even see beyond your fantasy-rightousness? I doubt it.
Do you really think that calling ALS an "ape" will HELP keep THIS thread from being pulled? YOU ARE A HYPOCRITE, Aric.
You are too blind in your arrogance to see that YOU and YOUR side are guilty of the very same things that you bitch about (right before crying to mommy).
You have absolutely NO IDEA the amount of restraint that I put into this post. You should TRY IT SOMETIME.
"leash him up" <---do you have any idea how disgusting a statement that is?????? You expect me/anyone to reply to you with respect when you say something like that? Are you drunk, Aric? Tourettes, maybe? Seriously...There is NO WAY that a rational person could say such a thing whilst demanding civility and not suffer from one of these ailments.
Don't reply...or expect another from me until you can be man enough to apologize.
Right next door!
I love that quote! :-)
I am looking (in more ways than one) :-)
(Does DNA count?) My DNA flew to Venus due to cutting my hand on a spacecraft. Indeed it was cleaned, but I have a inkling there was some DNA left. :-)
Nope! The speed of light is a constant (in a vacuum). 299,792,458 meters per second. And no, it is not slowing down.
I disagree. It is easier to detect the more elliptical orbits around other "suns" at this time.
The devil you say. Our problem seems to be with free speech/thought. Or so I've been told.
Fortunately, our reported lack of moral fiber can be remedied with a sufficient application of dietary fiber. Or so I've also heard.
But normal cruising speed is only warp 6.
It's possible to travel faster than that, of course,
but only for limited periods since it accelerates deterioration of the dilithium crystals.
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!... I wonder if "Post grape Nuts" would count? :-)
Yep. A right one and a wrong one.
I build a lot of computers and never consider one finished without a bit of my blood. Trouble is, the newer aluminum cases are so well made they don't have any sharp edges in tight places.
;)
Look how fast Defiant can go for the length of time it takes.
And I swear, I'm not uncoordinated, don't wear orthopedic shoes, and didn't have to take my mother to the prom....
Good..Thats one thing, I hope will stay constant. Can't have someone playing dice with all those constants...chaos would result.... OH No! Now I've done it... :))
Except I've heard that if two Jews are debating, there are three sides.
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