1RXS J160929.1-210524This young star obviously has a companion, which probably is the smallest object outside the solar system fotographed so far. Then this is the first photo of an exoplanet around a sunlike star. The planet with about 8 times the mass of Jupiter and 1.7 times its diameter is with 330 AU very far away from its star. It is luminous by itself, because it still has a temperature of 1800 Kelvin, but it will cool down slowly.Constellation: Scorpius Age: 5 million years Distance: 490 light-years Spectral class: K7 Mass: 0.85 * Sun Diameter: 1.35 * Sun Back: List of Exoplanets 09/17/2008 |
The planet is to the upper left. Photo: Gemini Observatory |
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