Detecting distant planets
August 20th 2007 08:13
We have long gazed at the sky and wondered if there were other worlds like our own Earth in orbit around the distant stars.
For the meantime, we know of Earth-size worlds only exist in our own solar system. In time we may discover that Earths exist elsewhere in our galaxy, circling other Suns. We may find that planets like Earth are not rare, but common. Conversely, if we do not find other Earths, our concept of star and planet formation is open to question. In either case, our understanding of our planet and our place in the universe will change.
The method of detecting extra-solar-planets is not that difficult in theory however given the distances involved and the potential planets being very small compared to the size of the sun/s they orbit therefore any light reflected form near-by planets will be overpowered by the brightness of the distant sun/s making any ground base observation from Earth virtually impossible to detect.
There are a number of methods of finding distant planets; one in particular uses Earth telescopes to observe distant suns for any possible “wobble “in the suns orbit.
Even our massive sun “wobbles” because of the gravitational pull of the larger outer planets like Jupiter and Saturn and to some extent Earth and Venus. As the larger planets orbit the sun they do have an effect on the orbit of the Sun causing it to “wobble ”this “wobble can be measured, the greater the star’s “wobble” the greater the possibility of that particular star having a large planet or planets orbiting that sun.
Since the 1992 announcement of pulsar planets more than 130 giant (Jupiter and Saturn size) planets in orbit about nearby stars have been discovered using ground-based telescopes.
An example I can use is a shot-putt thrower they swing a large heavy object around and around and you can see that the weight shifts the person swinging the object and they have to compensate with moving their feet to keep balance.
There are other methods of detecting distant planets. If you have an interest in finding out more there are plenty of great internet sites.
Stella Nursery URL here
For the meantime, we know of Earth-size worlds only exist in our own solar system. In time we may discover that Earths exist elsewhere in our galaxy, circling other Suns. We may find that planets like Earth are not rare, but common. Conversely, if we do not find other Earths, our concept of star and planet formation is open to question. In either case, our understanding of our planet and our place in the universe will change.
The method of detecting extra-solar-planets is not that difficult in theory however given the distances involved and the potential planets being very small compared to the size of the sun/s they orbit therefore any light reflected form near-by planets will be overpowered by the brightness of the distant sun/s making any ground base observation from Earth virtually impossible to detect.
There are a number of methods of finding distant planets; one in particular uses Earth telescopes to observe distant suns for any possible “wobble “in the suns orbit.
Even our massive sun “wobbles” because of the gravitational pull of the larger outer planets like Jupiter and Saturn and to some extent Earth and Venus. As the larger planets orbit the sun they do have an effect on the orbit of the Sun causing it to “wobble ”this “wobble can be measured, the greater the star’s “wobble” the greater the possibility of that particular star having a large planet or planets orbiting that sun.
Since the 1992 announcement of pulsar planets more than 130 giant (Jupiter and Saturn size) planets in orbit about nearby stars have been discovered using ground-based telescopes.
An example I can use is a shot-putt thrower they swing a large heavy object around and around and you can see that the weight shifts the person swinging the object and they have to compensate with moving their feet to keep balance.
Stella Nursery URL here
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