Wednesday, July 14, 2010

A PLANET OUTSIDE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM


This is the first photo of a planet outside of our solar system. This isn't our sun, but it is a sun which is about 470 light-years away from our home. It's name is 1RXS J160929.1-210524, and that tiny orange sphere near it has been confirmed to be orbiting it. Pretty much this is the first photo of an extra-solar planet.

This photo was actually taken in 2008, but scientists weren't sure until now about it being an orbiting planet. So apparently now we know that this planet follows an orbit around the star 300 times larger than Earth's orbit. Also, this planet has about eight times the mass of Jupiter and is much hotter with a temperature of 1482C (as opposed to -110C of the biggest planet in our solar system).

This discovery may challenge the current model of planetary theories, and the star system may possibly much older than it's actual age! But maybe it's not even a planet...

xx

No comments: