Online:
Visits:
Stories:
Profile image
By Universe Today (Reporter)
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views

Now:
Last Hour:
Last 24 Hours:
Total:

First Microlensing Detection of a Planet Circling a Brown Dwarf Candidate

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 8:49
% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

(Before It's News)

This artist's conception could resemble a planetary system in front of a background star. Image Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Francis Reddy

This artist’s conception could resemble a planetary system in front of a background star. Image Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / Francis Reddy

When astronomers detect new exoplanets they typically do so using one of two techniques. First, there’s the famous transit technique, which looks for slight dips in light as a planet passes in front of its host star, and second is the radial velocity technique, which senses the motion of a star due to the gravitational pull of its planet.

But then there is gravitational microlensing, the chance magnification of the light from a distant star by the mass of a foreground star and its planets due to the distortion in the fabric of spacetime. While this technique sounds almost improbable, it is so accurate that every detection skips nominating planets as candidates and immediately verifies them as bona-fide worlds.

But without follow-up observations, the microlensing technique struggles with characterizing the incredibly faint host star. Now, a team of international astronomers led by PhD candidate Jennifer Yee from Ohio State University has detected the first microlensing signature, lovingly called MOA-2013-BLG-220Lb, that looks like a confirmed planet orbiting a candidate brown dwarf — an object so faint because it isn’t massive enough to kick-off nuclear fusion in its core.

(…)
Read the rest of First Microlensing Detection of a Planet Circling a Brown Dwarf Candidate (566 words)


© Shannon Hall for Universe Today, 2014. |
Permalink |
No comment |

Post tags: brown dwarfs, exoplanets, Microlensing

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh



Source: http://www.universetoday.com/110413/first-microlensing-detection-of-a-planet-circling-a-brown-dwarf-candidate/

Report abuse

Comments

Your Comments
Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

Top Stories
Recent Stories

Register

Newsletter

Email this story
Email this story

If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.