An orbiting telescope run by the French space agency Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) has detected the smallest exoplanet yet discovered, a planet only about twice the size of Earth.The Corot telescope discovered the planet using a technique known as the transit method, by which the light of the star dims slightly as the planet crosses its visible path. Designated Corot-Exo-7b, the planet orbits its star once every 20 hours and because of its proximity to its sun, its surface temperature lies between 1000°C and 1500°C, far too inhospitable to support life. Another planet also orbits the same star, one larger and more similar to Neptune.
About 330 exoplanets have been identified so far, with most belonging to the type known as gas giants more similar to Jupiter or Neptune than "rocky" planets such as Earth or Mars. Most exoplanets are discovered using what is known as the radial velocity method, which is a slight but detectable wobbling of the star due to an orbiting planet's own gravity.
These results were announced February 3rd on the European Space Ageny (ESA) website.
Source: BBC News
No comments:
Post a Comment