Capital Berg

Keeps People Up-To-Date

Sunday, April 18, 2021
Log in
  • United States
  • Business
  • Health
  • Science
  • Technology
  • About CapitalBerg
    • Analysts & Contributors
    • Advertising
    • Contact US
    • Privacy Policy GDPR
    • Terms of Use

Pages

  • About CapitalBerg
  • Advertising
  • Analysts & Contributors
  • Contact US
  • Investor Relations
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • SEC Disclosure
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • Tennessee Rapist Breaks into Woman’s House Three Times the Same Night to Assault Her June 29, 2018
  • Mentally Ill Man Arrested After Breaking into Retirement Home to Grope a Woman’s Chest June 28, 2018
  • “Syndrome” Author Blake Leibel Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder and Torture of Girlfriend June 27, 2018
  • Michigan Dad to Be Sentenced in the Beating Death of 3-Year-Old Infant June 26, 2018
  • Ohio Patrolman Booted from Police After Pulling Over His Daughter and Boyfriend June 26, 2018
  • Utah Mayor Shares Heartwarming Letter of Man Apologizing for Stealing a Stop Sign 75 Years Ago June 25, 2018
  • Mississippi Man Beheaded Mother After A Spat over Credit Cards June 25, 2018

Telescopic detection of Super Earth orbiting a Sun like Star paves way for further small exoplanet detections

December 1, 2014 By Marlene R. Litten

telescopic-earth-planet

The international research team used the 2.5-meter Nordic Optical Telescope on the island of La Palma, Spain, a moderate-sized facility by today’s standards but equipped with state-of-the-art instruments, to make the detection. Previous observations of this planet transit had to rely on space-borne telescopes.

The host star, 55 Cancri, is located just 40 light-years away from us and is visible to the naked eye. During its transit, the planet crosses 55 Cancri and blocks a tiny fraction of the starlight, dimming the star by 1/2000th (or 0.05%) for almost two hours. This shows that the planet is about twice the size of Earth, or 16,000 miles in diameter.

“Our observations show that we can detect the transits of small planets around Sun-like stars using ground-based telescopes,” says Ernst de Mooij of Queen’s University Belfast in the United Kingdom, lead author of the study.

He continues, “This is especially important because upcoming space missions such as TESS and PLATO should find many small planets around bright stars and we will want to follow up the discoveries with ground-based instruments.”

TESS is a NASA mission scheduled for launch in 2017, while PLATO is to be launched in 2024 by the European Space Agency; both will search for transiting terrestrial planets around nearby bright stars.

The planet 55 Cancri e is about twice as big and eight times as massive as Earth. With a period of 18 hours, it is the innermost of five planets in the system. Because of its proximity to the host star, the planet’s dayside temperature reaches over 3100° Fahrenheit (1700° Celsius), hot enough to melt metal, with conditions far from hospitable to life. Initially identified a decade ago through radial velocity measurements, it was later confirmed through transit observations with the MOST and Spitzer space telescopes.

Until now, the transits of only one other super-Earth, GJ 1214b circling a red dwarf, had been observed with ground-based telescopes. The Earth’s roiling air makes such observations extremely difficult. But the team’s success with 55 Cancri e raises the prospects of characterizing dozens of super-Earths likely to be revealed by upcoming surveys.

  • About the Author

About Marlene R. Litten

Marlene has always been a journalist at heart, though her wordsmithing capabilities helped her contribute to a multitude of blogs before finally settling for the online press. She strongly advocates for those treated unjustly and likes to cover US and World news.

Filed Under: Science Tagged With: European Space Agency, La Palma, nasa, Nordic Optical Telescope, Planet 55 Cancri e, PLATO, Queen's University Belfast, Spain, Star 55 Cancri, TESS

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 44 other subscribers

Recent Articles

sleep

Tennessee Rapist Breaks into Woman’s House Three Times the Same Night to Assault Her

June 29, 2018 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

police lights

Mentally Ill Man Arrested After Breaking into Retirement Home to Grope a Woman’s Chest

June 28, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

gavel

“Syndrome” Author Blake Leibel Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder and Torture of Girlfriend

June 27, 2018 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

Woods

Michigan Dad to Be Sentenced in the Beating Death of 3-Year-Old Infant

June 26, 2018 By Marlene R. Litten Leave a Comment

patrol cruiser

Ohio Patrolman Booted from Police After Pulling Over His Daughter and Boyfriend

June 26, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

stop sign

Utah Mayor Shares Heartwarming Letter of Man Apologizing for Stealing a Stop Sign 75 Years Ago

June 25, 2018 By June Harris Leave a Comment

Butter knives

Mississippi Man Beheaded Mother After A Spat over Credit Cards

June 25, 2018 By Carol Harper Leave a Comment

XXXTentacion mugshot

Florida Authorities Arrested Suspect in Connection with Shooting of XXXTentacion

June 22, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

sunset over beach

Dallas Mother Accused of Beating Four-Year-Old and Dumping Body Into the Water

June 21, 2018 By Denise Ehrlich Leave a Comment

chicken Alfredo

Ohio Man Sentenced for Trying to Seduce Teenage Boy with Naked Pictures and Chicken Alfredo

June 20, 2018 By Marlene R. Litten Leave a Comment

bedroom

South Carolina Teen and Mates End Up In Slammer for Raping a Teenage Girl

June 19, 2018 By Waleed Javed Leave a Comment

cyberstalkin

California Man Arrested for Stalking Ex-Girlfriend, Hacking Her Online Accounts

June 19, 2018 By June Harris Leave a Comment

hammer

Naked Patient Sneaks out of Emergency Room to Bash Homeowner’s Head with Hammer

June 18, 2018 By Carol Harper Leave a Comment

screwdriver

Middle School Student Attacks Teacher During Class with Screwdriver

June 18, 2018 By Andreas Petersen Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • Stephen Hawking watching a screen while sitting in his chair

    Stephen Hawking’s Family Sends His Final Message to Space

    Jun 15, 2018
  • super earth exoplanet half in shadow

    Is Gravity the Force Keeping Aliens from Visiting Earth? European Scientists Say So (Study)

    May 8, 2018
  • starbust stars and galaxies in the universe

    Thousands of Early Galaxies Revealed by Map of Old Universe (Study)

    Apr 10, 2018
  • statue of a neanderthal half shadowed

    Scientists Found a Possible Explanation for the Neanderthals’ Big Noses (Study)

    Apr 10, 2018
  • the planet venus

    Could the Clouds of Venus Be Holding Forms of Life?

    Apr 5, 2018
  • NASA and Parker Solar Probe Study

    NASA Ready to Send the Parker Solar Probe on its First Mission

    Mar 7, 2018
  • stars and galaxies in the universe

    Scientists Measure the Expansion Rate of the Universe, Challenge Physics?

    Feb 26, 2018
  • sunspots on the sun in close up

    Is the Sun Going to Get Dimmer and Cooler in the Next Decades? (Study)

    Feb 12, 2018
  • Two mummified brothers

    Egyptian Tale of Two Mummified Brothers Takes Unexpected Turn

    Jan 18, 2018
  • Futuristic robot holding its arms spread

    A New Type of Revolutionary Robotic Muscles Is Strong, Flexible, and Cheap (Study)

    Jan 7, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Deals
  • Health
  • Science
  • Technology
  • United States
  • World

Copyright © 2021 capitalberg.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact