You're looking at the closest exoplanet ever directly imaged from Earth.
Posted on 05/11/2015 1:38:31 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Typically, exoplanets are observed indirectly using such techniques as the transit method, or by measuring changes in the radial velocity of host stars. In the vast majority of cases, astronomers aren’t able to detect the light from these planets due to their extreme distance from observational equipment. But VHS J1256b—a gas giant located 40 light-years from Earth—is close enough, bright enough, and distant enough from its host star to be seen and distinguished by our telescopes. The direct image of VHS J1256b, along with its spectral signature, was acquired by scientists at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canaries (IAC), the Centre of Astrobiology (CAB), and the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT).
At about 11 times the mass of Jupiter, this massive planet orbits a red dwarf at a distance of 100 AU, which is about 20 times further than Jupiter’s distance from the Sun. Because VHS J1256b is so far from its host star, the astronomers were able to isolate its full spectral range, including ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and infrared.
(Excerpt) Read more at io9.com ...
You're looking at the closest exoplanet ever directly imaged from Earth.
At 11 Jupiter masses, it is quite nearly a star in its own right. Might be why it’s red...
Be a hell of a thing if we actually witnessed the ignition/birth of a star.
Looks communist to me.
A red midget sharing a gravitational fulcrum with a red dwarf. More like a binary system.
Are there large rectangular black objects streaming into it?
Indeed it would. Except that it would have happened 40 years ago... but who's complaining?
Whats 40 years in the life of a star? (Especially in the case of Sophia Loren ;)
Kidding aside, I wonder what time scale the actual ‘ignition’ event would be. And how does it avoid a supernova type explosion?
Probably pixels.
It's virtually hot enough to be a star itself. I was expecting that if we ever discovered a planet orbiting a red dwarf that it would be cold outside with no kind of atmosphere.
I can think of two black objects right off hand I’d like to see streaming into it. Quite a few beyond those too actually.
Well, at 40 light years away, they are just now getting “The Jeffersons” and “Saturday Night Live” transmissions. So if they are using VHS, they are ahead of the curve.
Trans-solar littering is against the law.
Think of it as an attempt at finding a new home for liberals. They could be the first Black colonists and for the first time ever, be proud of their new country.
Space travel is inherently dangerous but they are a couple of ‘firsts’ and ‘historic’ so it’s OK.
It would be a red dwarf star starting at about 75 or 80 Jupiter masses. It is almost a brown dwarf, however, which starts at about 13 Jupiter masses. Those aren’t technically planets because they can possibly fuse deuterium at some point, and shine with a dull red glow.
The musicians here probably take issue to the “Super Jupiter” thing though...there can be only one.
http://www.vintagesynth.com/roland/mks80.php
Can you explain that process for the layman?
When a Sun and a Star love each other very much...
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.
