From: Larry Klaes (lklaes@bbn.com)
Date: Fri Aug 20 1999 - 10:58:20 MDT
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>From: Robert Owen <rowen@technologist.com>
>To: Carl Sagan List <carlsagan@cwe.cx>
>Subject: Sagan: FWD:Planet Found Orbiting Two Stars
>
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> Subject: [astrospace-l] Planet found orbiting two stars
> Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 10:42:35 +0200
> From: Frits Westra <fwestra@hetnet.nl>
> Reply-To: astrospace-l@onelist.com
>
>URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_424000/424001.stm
>
> Wednesday, August 18, 1999 Published at 17:26 GMT 18:26 UK
> Sci/Tech
>
> Planet found orbiting two stars
>
> By BBC News Online Science Editor Dr David Whitehouse
>
> Astronomers may have discovered a Jupiter-sized planet that orbits two
> stars, the first time this has been seen.
>
> It was found by a team from the USA, Israel and Australia using a
> telescope at the Mount Stromlo observatory in Australia. The discovery
> was made thanks to a "micro-lensing" event.
>
> These occur when an object like a dim star or a planet passes directly
> between Earth and another star. The gravity of the intervening star or
> planet acts like a magnifying glass, improving the view of the more
> distant star.
>
> Double vision
>
> On 19 June astronomers saw such a brightening which lasted 100 days.
> After only a few days, however, they realised the specific pattern of
> light they saw could not be due to just one star - they needed two
> stars and a planet to explain it.
>
> They suggest that the two stars are both smaller and dimmer than our
> Sun and orbit each other at a distance of about 150 million miles.
>
> Outside this a Jupiter-sized planet orbits the pair of them at a
> distance of about 650 million miles.
>
> More to come?
>
> Planets have been found in double star systems before. But they have
> only been orbiting one of the pair, not both of them. Most stars in
> the galaxy belong to double (or more) systems, so it is likely that
> there are many planets that orbit two (or more) stars, waiting to be
> seen.
>
> Detecting planets circling other stars is just one use of
> micro-lensing. Several teams of astronomers are monitoring the light
> from millions of stars every night looking for this form of stellar
> brightening.
>
> They hope they may be able to obtain evidence about the Universe's
> "dark matter" which is known to be out there, but which has so far
> defied analysis.
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>The AstroSpace List is a list to discuss topics related to Astronomy,
>Astrophysics/Cosmology, Space Exploration and SETI (Search for
>Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>=======================
>Robert M. Owen
>57 W. Morgan Street
>Brevard, NC 28712-3659 USA
>=======================
>
>
>
>
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