The planetary system around the Sun-like star HD 10180 (artist’s impression)

This artist’s impression shows the remarkable planetary system around the Sun-like star HD 10180. Observations with the HARPS spectrograph, attached to ESO’s 3.6-metre telescope at La Silla, Chile, have revealed the definite presence of five planets and evidence for two more in orbit around this star. This system is similar to the Solar System in terms of number of planets and the presence of a regular pattern in the sizes of the orbits. If confirmed the closest planet detected would be the lightest yet known outside the Solar System, with a mass that could be only about 1.4 times that of the Earth.

The large crescent is the third world in the system (HD 10180d), which is comparable to the planet Neptune in mass. The two inner planets appear as silhouettes in transit across the bright disc of the star. The outer planets in the system appear in the background sky.

Crédit:

ESO/L. Calçada

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso1035a
Type:Dessin
Date de publication:24 août 2010 10:00
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso1035
Taille:4000 x 2827 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:HD 10180
Type:Milky Way : Star : Circumstellar Material : Planetary System
Milky Way : Star : Evolutionary Stage : Main Sequence
Distance:130 années lumière
Catégorie:Exoplanets
Illustrations

Formats des images

Grand JPEG
2,3 Mio
JPEG taille écran
128,8 Kio

Zoomable


Fonds d'écran

1024x768
153,1 Kio
1280x1024
241,7 Kio
1600x1200
356,9 Kio
1920x1200
432,5 Kio
2048x1536
596,3 Kio