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Hot, heavy and very far away - the three latest planets



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THREE planets which are hotter and heavier than Jupiter have been discovered, astronomers said.
Wasp-3b, 4b and 5b, which are hundreds of light years away from Earth, were located using specialist cameras.

They were identified after scientists recorded the shadow or "dip" they cast when passing in front of their parent star.

The planets, which lie outside our solar system, are larger than Jupiter. They are also more than 2,000 degrees hotter, making extra-terrestrial life impossible.

Astronomers from St Andrews University, Queen's University in Belfast and Keele University in Staffordshire were involved in the planet-hunting project.

The cameras were set up in La Palma in the Canary Islands and Sutherland in South Africa.

Professor Andrew Cameron, of St Andrews University, said the planets were "surprisingly heavy" and all had a greater mass than Jupiter.

"These planets are gas planets like Jupiter, but are very much hotter because they are around 50 per cent closer to their stars," he said.



The full article contains 173 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 31 October 2007 10:19 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Space science
 
1

'Suck' - McCrunchie,

the eighth 01/11/2007 04:07:52

3b, 4b and 5b

Bra sizes not even worth mentioning!

2

Douglas,

Bathgate 01/11/2007 07:51:10

Hot, heavy and very far away. That'll be me on my Australian adventure next March. :o))

Is planet naming done along the same lines as hurricanes? If it is, something more imposing in the w's like walrus, winnebago or whataheavyplanet, but Wasp?!

3

Boy Wonder,

01/11/2007 08:41:35

Planet 2003 UB313 has been named Xena ... after TV's Warrior Princess. Xena, the possible 10th planet in our solar system, has its own moon, a dim little satellite called Gabrielle, its discoverers say. Xstronomers who reported Xena's discovery in 2005 say they detected Xena's sidekick in September using the Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

"Since the day we discovered Xena, the big question has been whether or not it has a moon," says Professor Michael Brown, of the California Institute of Technology. "Having a moon is just inherently cool. And it is something that most self-respecting planets have, so it is good to see that this one does too."

The pair live beyond Pluto in a band known as the Kuiper Belt, a region that is home to comets, asteroids and other space rocks. The possible 10th planet moves in a highly eccentric orbit, tilted some 45° above the orbital plane of the other planets. Its orbit is also elliptical, zooming in as close as 5.6 billion kilometres from the Sun and moving out to as far as 14.5 billion kilometres away. Earth orbits rather consistently at 150 million kilometres from the Sun. It takes Xena 560 Earth years to complete one trip around the Sun, compared with Pluto's 250 years. Xena is one of three big planet-like bodies recently found in this region.

Size is important when it comes to making the grade as a planet. Astronomers know that Xena is bigger than Pluto but since they don't know what it is made of, they can't be sure that it is more massive. The discovery of the moon Gabrielle means Xena has at least enough mass to keep a satellite. Gabrielle is estimated to orbit close to Xena, making a circuit perhaps every 14 days. It is about 60 times fainter than Xena.

The International Astronomical Union, which decides on what is a planet, considers Xena a trans-Neptunian object, meaning its orbit crosses that of Neptune, just as the recently downgraded Pluto's does. Xena's discover

4

stellar,

01/11/2007 12:38:47

"Planet 2003 UB313 has been named Xena".

Wrong, 2003 UB313 has actually been named Eris.

5

Boy Wonder,

01/11/2007 14:55:14

#7. You meant of course, "2003 UB313 has NOW been named Eris."

It's still Xena to many people around the world.

6

'Suck' - McCrunchie,

the eighth 01/11/2007 17:53:12

2. weeshooie1

Sometimes its difficult to keep abreast of things!!!

8. Boy Wonder

Typical planet, takes out credit then changes its name and then moves to some other part of the solar system.


 

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