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ESO 22/07 - Associated Image
Under Embargo till 25 April 2007 01:00 AM CEST
Astronomers Find First Earth-like Planet in Habitable Zone
The Dwarf Carried Other Worlds Too!
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ESO PR Photo 22a/07 The Planetary System in Gliese 581 [Preview - JPEG: 474 x 400 pix - 172k] |
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| Artist's impression of the planetary system around the red dwarf Gliese 581. Using the instrument HARPS on the ESO 3.6-m telescope, astronomers have uncovered 3 planets, all of relative low-mass: 5, 8 and 15 Earth masses. The five Earth-mass planet (seen in foreground - Gliese 581 c) makes a full orbit around the star in 13 days, the other two in 5 (the blue, Neptunian-like planet - Gliese 581 b) and 84 days (the most remote one, Gliese 581 d). (c) ESO | |
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ESO PR Photo 22b/07 The Earth-like Planet Gliese 581 c [Preview - JPEG: 474 x 400 pix - 172k] |
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| Artist's impression of the five-Earth mass planet, Gliese 581 c, found in the habitable zone around the red dwarf Gliese 581, with the instrument HARPS on the ESO 3.6-m telescope. (c) ESO | |
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ESO PR Photo 22c/07 The Star Gliese 581 [Preview - JPEG: 474 x 400 pix - 200k] |
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| The star Gliese 581. Source: Digital Sky Survey. | |
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ESO PR Photo 22d/07 Velocity Variations of Gliese 581 [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 683 pix - 156k] |
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| Three-planet Keplerian model of the Gliese 581 radial-velocity variations. The panels display the phase-folded curve of each of the planets, with points representing the observed radial velocities, after removing the effect of the other planets. Top panel refers to the 15 Earth-mass planet orbiting close to the star (5-d period), the middle one is the 5 Earth-mass planet in the habitable zone and the lower panel shows evidence for a third, 8 Earth-mass planet with a period of 84 days. The error on one measurement is of the order of 1 m/s. | |
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ESO PR Photo 22e/07 The Radial Velocity Method [Preview - JPEG: 400 x 454 pix - 104k] |
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| The radial velocity method to detect exoplanet is based on the detection of variations in the velocity of the central star, due to the changing direction of the gravitational pull from an (unseen) exoplanet as it orbits the star. When the star moves towards us, its spectrum is blueshifted, while it is redshifted when it moves away from us. By regularly looking at the spectrum of a star - and so, measure its velocity - one can see if it moves periodically due to the influence of a companion. | |
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