Astronomers unveil ’super-exotic’ exoplanet
April 29th, 2011 - 3:42 pm ICT by IANSWashington, April 29 (IANS) Astronomers have unveiled details of a “super-exotic” exoplanet - described as the densest known solid planet in existence.
An exoplanet is a planet outside the solar system.
The planet, named 55 Cancri e, is 60 percent larger than Earth and eight times as massive. Twice as dense as Earth - almost as dense as lead - it is the densest solid planet known, according to the latest findings.
A team of astronomers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of British Columbia (UBC), the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics and the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) were involved in research.
The research, based on observations from Canada’s Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST) space telescope, was released online at arXiv.org, scheduled for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
MOST is a Canadian space agency mission.
Approximately 40 light years from Earth, 55 Cancri e orbits a star called 55 Cancri A so closely that its year is less than 18 hours long.
“You could set dates on this world by your wrist watch, not a calendar,” says UBC astronomer Jaymie Matthews, according to an UBC statement.
The temperature on the planet’s surface could be as high as 2,700 degrees Celsius.
“Because of the infernal heat, it’s unlikely that 55 Cancri e has an atmosphere,” says lead author Josh Winn of MIT. “So this is not the type of place where exobiologists would look for life.”
While the planet is not visible, even through a telescope, its host star, 55 Cancri A, can be observed with the naked eye for the next two months on a clear dark night.
- Densest solid planet known 'super-exotic super-Earth' unveiled - Apr 29, 2011
- NASA's Spitzer detects light of alien 'Super-Earth' - May 09, 2012
- Chances of life on newly discovered Earth-like planet '100pc' - Sep 30, 2010
- Most habitable Earth-like planet discovered - Sep 30, 2010
- NASA's super-Earth characterization could help find life on other planets - Dec 02, 2010
- Scientists discover richest planetary system - Aug 25, 2010
- New solar system found 127 light years away - Aug 25, 2010
- We can detect volcanoes on alien worlds, say scientists - Sep 08, 2010
- Scientists ferret out planet-hunting targets with NASA telescope - Apr 08, 2011
- Hubble discovers new, all-water planet - Feb 22, 2012
- Vast solar system detected 127 light years away - Aug 25, 2010
- Earth-sized planets found beyond solar system - Dec 21, 2011
- Billions of life bearing planets float in the milky way - May 14, 2012
- Astronomers discover new planet in planetary system similar to our own - Dec 09, 2010
- Astronomers discover new planet in Milky Way - Mar 19, 2010
Tags: 55 cancri, astronomer, astrophysical journal, astrophysical journal letters, astrophysics, canadian space agency, eight times, exoplanet, host star, light years, massachusetts institute of technology, massachusetts institute of technology mit, microvariability and oscillations of stars, naked eye, orbits, oscillations, space agency mission, space telescope, university of british columbia, university of california at santa cruz