Posted: Wed, Jun 19, 2002, 8:16 AM ET (1216 GMT)
Astronomers announced Tuesday the discovery of an extrasolar planet similar to Jupiter, the second such planet found in less than a week. A European team of astronomers led by Michel Mayor of Geneva Observatory said they had discovered a planet orbiting the star HD190360A, also known as Gliese 777A, with a minimum mass identical to Jupiter and a circular orbit with a radius of 3.65 AU, slightly less than Jupiter's 5.2 AU. The announcement, made Tuesday at an extrasolar planets conference in Washington DC, comes less than a week after another group of astronomers said they found a planet orbiting 55 Cancri that is also similar to Jupiter; the two exoplanets are the closest analogs to our solar system's largest planet found to date. The new exoplanet was one of eight new discoveries announced by the Geneva team Tuesday, bringing the total number of exoplanets to nearly 100.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  New York Times article
•  ESA press release