Astronomers find first carbon-rich exoplanet
Posted: Fri, Dec 10, 2010, 7:47 AM ET (1247 GMT)
Astronomers announced this week the discovery of the first extrasolar planet dominated by carbon, a world whose interior may be filled with graphite and diamonds. The planet, WASP-12b, is about 1.4 times as massive as Jupiter and orbits a star 1,200 light-years away. Astronomers used NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to observe the system as the planet moved behind the star to determine the composition of the planet. The planet was the first found with a ratio of carbon to oxygen greater than one, indicating the presence of excess carbon. The observations also confirmed that the exoplanet is among the hottest yet discovered, with a temperature on the star-facing side of 2,600 kelvin.
Astronomers announced this week the discovery of the first extrasolar planet dominated by carbon, a world whose interior may be filled with graphite and diamonds. The planet, WASP-12b, is about 1.4 times as massive as Jupiter and orbits a star 1,200 light-years away. Astronomers used NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to observe the system as the planet moved behind the star to determine the composition of the planet. The planet was the first found with a ratio of carbon to oxygen greater than one, indicating the presence of excess carbon. The observations also confirmed that the exoplanet is among the hottest yet discovered, with a temperature on the star-facing side of 2,600 kelvin.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, September 5
Gilat Announces $100 Million Five-Year Convertible Notes at 60% Conversion Premium
Gilat Satellite Networks — 11:15 am ET (1515 GMT) 6U-Class Earth Observation Satellite ONGLAISAT, Co-Developed by ArkEdge Space, Wins Small Satellite Mission of the Year Award –First mission involving a Japanese company and university to receive the award–
ArkEdge Space — 11:15 am ET (1515 GMT) Datacentrex Invests $30 Million in Eagle LNG Partners, a Supplier of Fuel for the U.S. Space Launch Industry
Datacentrex — 11:14 am ET (1514 GMT) HawkEye 360 Confirms Early Lock-up Release for September 2nd; Preliminary Inclusion in Russell 2000
HawkEye 360 — 11:13 am ET (1513 GMT) America’s AI Lead Won’t Win The Next Space Race
Forbes.com — 11:11 am ET (1511 GMT) |
