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Planet-hunting astronomers at the University of Toronto say they have taken a picture of a rare sight - a planet orbiting a star outside our solar system.

The planet (circled) is eight times the size of Jupiter and orbits a star about 500 light years from Earth, say astronomers at U of T.<br /> <em>(Gemini Observatory)</em>

The planet (circled) is eight times the size of Jupiter and orbits a star about 500 light years from Earth, say astronomers at U of T.
(Gemini Observatory)

CBC News

Astronomers David Lafreniere, Ray Jayawardhana and Marten van Kerkwijk made their finding after doing a survey of 80 stars taken using the Gemini North telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Their findings, which have been submitted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters, have been posted online on Cornell University's arXiv website.

In the near-infrared images taken of one young star about 500 light years from Earth, they discovered a companion to the star which they say is a giant planet about eight times the size of Jupiter.

The unique discovery raises the possibility that followup study will be able to take a more detailed spectra of the planet and learn about its chemical composition, said Jayawardhana.

"Astronomers have discovered over 300 extrasolar planets since we first started looking for them some 20 years ago, but most times we are inferring the existence of a planet based on indirect methods of detection," he said. "This is one of the rare cases where we can actually see the planet in the near-infrared and take a picture."

Most extrasolar planets are discovered using indirect means. Many are inferred by observing slight alterations in the orbit of stars due to the gravitational influence of the planets, while some are noticed when they pass in front of - or transit - our view of the star, slightly altering the light we see.

Actual imaging of a planet on the other hand, is extremely rare, since it is so difficult to spot relatively dim planets next to bright stars.

Near-infrared images have been taken of planets orbiting dim brown dwarf stars, but this is the first image of a planet orbiting a star that is similar in size to our sun, they said.

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The planetary-mass companion to the star is photogenic in part because not only is it huge, it is also hot, with an estimated temperature of about 1,800 kelvin (about 1,500 C). In that sense, the discovered object is closer to a brown dwarf star than to a planet like Earth, but is still small enough to be considered a planet.

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That is really interesting... If that planet is that hot, maybe it's moons would be able to support liquid water? Gee that is an interesting thought.

Nice article, thanks.