Astronomers reach major milestone
Updated on 15 January 2009
Astronomers have taken a big step forward in the study of planets orbiting other suns by measuring light from two distant worlds using ground-based telescopes for the first time.
Separate observations were made of two "hot Jupiters" - giant gas planets that orbit very close to their parent stars.
Analysing the atmospheres of extra-solar planets by looking at the light they emit will in future be crucial to the search for life beyond the Solar System.
A planet's atmosphere can provide information such as the presence of water, oxygen, carbon dioxide and methane, all of which may offer clues about the existence or absence of life.
In the past, measurements of light from extra-solar planets have only been made using space telescopes.
The new infra-red observations were made by international teams using state-of-the-art telescopes in the Canary Islands, Hawaii, and Chile.
Both involved measuring light variations when the planets moved behind their parent stars.
One team observed a planet 800 light years away in the constellation of Hercules called TrES-3b. The other observed the planet OGLE-TR-56b, which is in the constellation of Sagittarius, 5,000 light years from Earth. Both planets are incredibly hot because they are so close to their stars.
The findings are to appear in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
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