07-October-2005, 06:57 PM
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Vulcan Moderator
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Posts: 24,311
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The Best Transiting Exoplanet Yet
The Best Transiting Exoplanet Yet
Quote:
The European planet-hunting team founded by Michel Mayor (Geneva Observatory, Switzerland) has just announced a new extrasolar planet that crosses the face of its host star — the ninth transiting exoplanet found to date. But this planet is special. The planet, which orbits the 7.7-magnitude type-K star HD 189733 in Vulpecula, offers professional astronomers their best prospects for studying an exoplanet's atmosphere and temperature. It also gives amateurs their easiest opportunity to detect a world orbiting another star. Moreover, the host star is located just 0.3° from the Dumbbell Nebula (M27), ideally positioned for Northern Hemisphere observers during early evening this season.
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Thanks to these favorable conditions, research won't be limited to professional astronomers. The star itself is so bright that it can be seen with just a pair of binoculars. Amateur astronomers and students using small telescopes equipped with CCDs will easily be able to measure the 3 percent drop in brightness caused by the transits. "Heck, this transit is so deep some of our most experienced visual observers could do it!" claims Aaron Price of the American Association of Variable Star Observers.
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