Tags: alien planet, astronomy, planet, space science, stars
Discovering a planet around another star is no big deal these days — dozens of them have been reported in 2008 alone, and the total count now stands at more than 300.
Of course, the burgeoning exoplanet population hasn’t stopped astronomers from looking for more of them. Big gaps remain in the sampling statistics, because the most successful techniques (radial-velocity monitoring, microlensing events, and periodic transits) favor finding large bodies close to their parent stars. Far-out planets are rarely discovered this way because they have long orbital periods and even longer odds of crossing directly in front of their stars.
But it should be possible to spot alien worlds directly by imaging very young nearby stars. This game plan assumes that any outlying gas-giant planets are still glowing warmly from their recent formation, making them relatively easy pickings at infrared wavelengths. One of these came to light in 2004, though it orbits a feebly glowing brown dwarf rather than a proper star.
Full article at skyandtelescope.com
September 16th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
I think we are all familiar with a not too distant alien world, where common sense and natural laws are ignored on a daily basis. This world seems to be entirely populated with gaseous giants, most of them glowing warmly with self-satisfaction…
And if you can’t visit Washington DC, it is likely you can find similar areas around a nearby state capital. If not around your state capital, feel free to visit Texas, our legislature is as alien and gaseous as they come.
September 17th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Setting politics aside, because the universe does not respond to our methods of activity, this is truly awesome. Then again, the discoveries of exploration are always awesome, considering that they are daunting and we simply do not know nor can keep up with them. Good stuff!
September 17th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
This is cool but gas giants are unlikely to have life, right? This could definitely increase our understandint of how and where planets form but we aren’t going to find planets like ours this way… are we?
September 18th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
What if there is a life out there? Hmmn…science never fails to amuse us.
September 19th, 2008 at 7:43 am
in out of our galaxy i am believe there is another planet that may have like earth and it needs to be explore
September 19th, 2008 at 10:01 am
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September 19th, 2008 at 10:37 am
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September 21st, 2008 at 7:48 pm
I think the aliens will never show up, and it is good for the hollywod. Else who ll watch alien sci-fi!!
September 22nd, 2008 at 4:12 am
aliens are true because weve seen tha in our place
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 am
nice post
thanks
September 25th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Would not surprise me if there where life on these extreme conditions planets, I mean we have all sorts of animals living under unlivable conditions by our standards. For example in our ocean’s we have hydrothermal vents which can reach 752°F in temperature yet all sorts of sea life live and thrive in this heat so it not far fetch to me that there could be life on a gas giant.
September 26th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I always wonder what’s being behind the frontiers of Planet Earth and I’ll not be surprised if we discovered ‘sort of life’ in the outer space, however sometimes I think we -humans- are really alien in the way we deal with each other. Maybe this is an off-topic note.
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