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Astronomy Picture of the Day
NASA ^
| 2/18/07
| KASI, CBNU, ARCSEC, NSF
Posted on 02/18/2008 2:10:15 PM PST by sig226
BLG-109: A Distant Version of our own Solar System
Illustration Credit: KASI, CBNU, ARCSEC, NSF Explanation: How common are planetary systems like our own? Perhaps quite common, as the first system of planets like our own Solar System has been discovered using a newly adapted technique that, so far, has probed only six planetary systems. The technique, called gravitational microlensing, looks for telling brightness changes in measured starlight when a foreground star with planets chances almost directly in front of a more distant star. The distant star's light is slightly deflected in predictable ways by the gravity of the closer system. Recently a detailed analysis of microlensing system OGLE-2006-BLG-109 has related brightness variations to two planets that are similar to Jupiter and Saturn of our own Solar System. This discovery carries the tantalizing implication that interior planets, possibly including Earth-like planets, might also be common. Pictured above is an artistic conception of how the BLG-109 planetary system might look.
TOPICS: Astronomy Picture of the Day
KEYWORDS: apod
1
posted on
02/18/2008 2:10:16 PM PST
by
sig226
To: sig226
1) When did we get a planet “?”
2) Looks like fungi. Awesome.
2
posted on
02/18/2008 2:12:45 PM PST
by
mtbopfuyn
(The fence is "absolutely not the answer" - Gov. Rick Perry (R, TX))
To: mtbopfuyn
#2 looks like that amoeba-thingy they ran into in Star Trek:TOS...
3
posted on
02/18/2008 2:43:55 PM PST
by
mikrofon
(Space BUMP)
To: sig226
Amazing picture! Our solar system is beautiful.
4
posted on
02/18/2008 2:53:13 PM PST
by
NRA2BFree
("The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves!")
To: sig226
Don’t forget there’s a lunar eclipse on Wed night.
To: NRA2BFree
Our solar system is beautiful.
True, but that's not our solar system. This is supposed to be a picture of some distant solar system like ours...
6
posted on
02/19/2008 9:05:40 AM PST
by
Sopater
(A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left. ~ Ecclesiastes 10:2)
To: NRA2BFree
Our solar system is beautiful.
True, but that's not our solar system. This is supposed to be a picture of some distant solar system like ours...
7
posted on
02/19/2008 9:06:28 AM PST
by
Sopater
(A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left. ~ Ecclesiastes 10:2)
To: Sopater
True, but that's not our solar system. This is supposed to be a picture of some distant solar system like ours...I know, but when you click on the Astronomy Picture of the Day, it is. ;o) It's been a favorite of mine for years now. It's really amazing to see all of the awesome pictures from the solar system.
8
posted on
02/19/2008 9:17:08 PM PST
by
NRA2BFree
("The time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men or slaves!")
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