Skip to comments.
Triple Sunset: Planet Discovered in 3-Star System
space.com ^
| 07/13/05
| Michael Schirber
Posted on 07/13/2005 5:07:51 PM PDT by KevinDavis
A newly discovered planet has bountiful sunshine, with not one, not two, but three suns glowing in its sky.
It is the first extrasolar planet found in a system with three stars. How a planet was born amidst these competing gravitational forces will be a challenge for planet formation theories.
"The environment in which this planet exists is quite spectacular," said Maciej Konacki from the California Institute of Technology. "With three suns, the sky view must be out of this world -- literally and figuratively."
The triple-star system, HD 188753, is located 149 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. The primary star is like our Sun, weighing 1.06 solar masses. The other two stars form a tightly bound pair, which is separated from the primary by approximately the Sun-Saturn distance.
"The pair more or less acts as one star," Konacki told SPACE.com.
The combined mass of the close pair is 1.63 solar masses
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: astronomy; earth2; exoplanets; science; space; starwars; tatooine; xplanets
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-40, 41-44 next last
To: Redcloak
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. ...Malachi 1:11
21
posted on
07/13/2005 7:48:28 PM PDT
by
onedoug
"How that planet formed in such a complicated setting is very puzzling. I believe there is yet much to be learned about how giant planets are formed," Konacki said.
Capture!
22
posted on
07/14/2005 10:16:47 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(last updated by FR profile on Tuesday, May 10, 2005.)
23
posted on
07/14/2005 10:18:11 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(last updated by FR profile on Tuesday, May 10, 2005.)
probably a dead link, but I didn't check it.
Europe's Science Machine
by Govert Schilling
Apart from the four main (8.2 meter) telescopes, ESO is planning at least three 1.8-meter auxiliary telescopes to increase the interferometric capabilities of the VLT. In interferometric mode, signals from two or more telescopes are combined to yield the same resolution as a single 130-meter mirror.
24
posted on
07/14/2005 10:19:22 AM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(last updated by FR profile on Tuesday, May 10, 2005.)
To: KevinDavis
We've found lots of planets, but it's unlikely that we'll spot anything Earth-like until the Terrestrial Planet Finder launches in 2014. Note that I define "Earth-like" as any planet between .5 and 1.5 Earth masses with an atmosphere, which resides in a stable orbit within the habitable zone around an equally stable star. "Earth-like" doesn't mean life...it's likely that any planets we find will either be completely sterile, or they will have plant life completely unlike anything we've ever seen. These Star Trek shows where people stumble across planets thickly forested with redwoods and conifers are pure fantasy.
To: Arthalion
planets thickly forested with redwoods and conifers are pure fantasy.
As opposed to the ones with silicon-based life? ;-P
26
posted on
07/14/2005 11:29:47 AM PDT
by
BJClinton
(The bubble of housing bubble threads is about to pop!)
Comment #27 Removed by Moderator
28
posted on
08/19/2006 8:13:43 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(updated my FR profile on Thursday, August 10, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
To: annie laurie; garbageseeker; Knitting A Conundrum
29
posted on
08/19/2006 8:14:18 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(updated my FR profile on Thursday, August 10, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
To: KevinDavis
All that sunlight would burn out your lawn.
To: KevinDavis; SunkenCiv
WOW. that sounds pretty cool
31
posted on
08/19/2006 11:01:06 PM PDT
by
GeronL
(flogerloon.blogspot.com -------------> Rise of the Hate Party)
To: Larry Lucido
32
posted on
08/19/2006 11:02:08 PM PDT
by
Hillarys Gate Cult
(The man who said "there's no such thing as a stupid question" has never talked to Helen Thomas.)
To: muir_redwoods
Nightfall is a good story. So is Nemesis.
33
posted on
08/19/2006 11:03:41 PM PDT
by
GeronL
(flogerloon.blogspot.com -------------> Rise of the Hate Party)
To: Arthalion
Hey Arty- please share your reliable source. Thanks!
34
posted on
08/19/2006 11:16:30 PM PDT
by
Treader
(Human convenience is always on the edge of a breakthrough, or a sellout)
To: GeronL
35
posted on
08/20/2006 1:41:05 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(updated my FR profile on Thursday, August 10, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
To: I Drive Too Fast; KevinDavis
That's EXACTLY what I was thinking LOL
36
posted on
08/20/2006 1:42:52 PM PDT
by
MikefromOhio
(aka MikeinIraq - I BEEEEEEELLLLLLIIEEEEVVVEEEEEEE in the conspiracy of the flying knee....)
To: Irish_Thatcherite
This planet gives new meaning to flex time.
37
posted on
08/20/2006 1:52:18 PM PDT
by
Boiler Plate
(Mom always said why be difficult, when with just a little more effort you can be impossible.)
To: SunkenCiv
thanks. I saved it for reading later. I'm working on a science fiction story too, I've only got 11 pages so far though.
38
posted on
08/20/2006 3:28:12 PM PDT
by
GeronL
(flogerloon.blogspot.com -------------> Rise of the Hate Party)
To: Treader
Heh, I love it when people drag threads out of the attic. I'm not sure what you mean by "reliable source" though. It's fairly well known that modern detection techniques aren't precise enough to detect planets as small as Earth, and the TPF will be the first instruments launched to correct that problem. Until they go up, the best we can hope for it Jupiter sized planets...perhaps Neptune if the conditions are just right.
As for the trees...anyone who understands the evolution of trees will understand why we won't be finding redwoods on another planet. I have little doubt that there is life out there, and it's likely that there's some sort of variation on the "plant" on many planets, but it's very virtually impossible that we'll find anything resembling the plants here on Earth (plants are likely simply because photosynthesis is an available and obvious source of energy, and it's hard to conceive of a planet developing life without SOMETHING taking advantage of it).
Practically every living thing on this planet is descended from the original simple plants in which DNA developed. If DNA or a functional equivalent didn't develop on another planet, you won't have any life more complex than a germ (advanced life of any sort, whether plant or animal, requires a method through which traits can be passed on). The odds that DNA would develop AND that the planet would undergo the exact climate and predator pressures needed to produce a "tree" are so remote that they make the lotto look like a sure thing comparatively.
To: Treader
Love your enthusiasm! And that is a reliable source in my small book. By all means, let's keep lookin'.
40
posted on
08/22/2006 12:53:57 AM PDT
by
Treader
(Human convenience is always on the edge of a breakthrough, or a sellout)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-40, 41-44 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson