New Planet?

[Evan van Eyk]

Just thought you might be interested. this is a bbc article about a new Hubble discovery, it may be a planet - the first one we actually see not counting the members of our solar system. However confirmation ma ytake some month.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3707185.stm

[strict31]

Has anyone actually discovered an extrasolar planet that hasn't basically been a gas giant? We seem to keep finding them because they're easier to "spot" than small terrestiral bodies, but it is cool to (potentially) be able to literally see a new extrasolar planet for once.


Strictly Speaking

[Tas II]

Hi Strict....

No-one has actually seen a non-gas giant planet simply because of the lack of light reflecting from such a body. As for non-gas giants, we cant even prove that such bodies exist as we cannot detect the 'wobble' that the comparitively weak gravity of such planets produce. The Earth produces a 5km wobble in our sun's position. Given that the surface is in constant motion, and the solar flares and so on, it will be very hard to spot such movements at any interstellar range. Gas giants are the only planetary bodies that we have any real hope of seing, simply because a: They are relatively easy to prove to exist, due to gravity distortions, and b: The bigger the planet, the more light (visible and non-) they reflect.

Cheers

Tas

[strict31]

Originally posted by Tas II
Hi Strict....

No-one has actually seen a non-gas giant planet simply because of the lack of light reflecting from such a body. As for non-gas giants, we cant even prove that such bodies exist as we cannot detect the 'wobble' that the comparitively weak gravity of such planets produce. The Earth produces a 5km wobble in our sun's position. Given that the surface is in constant motion, and the solar flares and so on, it will be very hard to spot such movements at any interstellar range. Gas giants are the only planetary bodies that we have any real hope of seing, simply because a: They are relatively easy to prove to exist, due to gravity distortions, and b: The bigger the planet, the more light (visible and non-) they reflect.

Cheers

Tas

Of course, the ultimate discovery would be a terrestrial planet that could support a form of life with which we might be familiar. I've heard it said that our solar system may well be something of an anomaly; our gas giants are perfectly positioned to deflect a majority of destructive bodies that might collide with Earth; they're sized just right to avoid tugging us into an irregular orbit or out of the temperate zone...so on.

A lot of people are concerned about finding life out in the void, and I'm not so much. I mean, bateria has been found living in reactors for god's sake. I think life of some sort is a fairly safe bet. Whether that life will be anything with which we have any hopes of...communicating with...or even recognizing...who knows.


Strictly Speaking