Astronomers were using the SPHERE instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory. The exciting peer-reviewed results were published in The letters of the astrophysical journal on July 22, 2020.
This planetary system orbits the star TYC 8998-760-1. It is 300 light years away in the direction of the southern constellation Musca the Fly. The system seems to resemble our own solar system, but it is much younger.
Here's the young star TYC 8998-760-1, in the upper left corner. Astronomers blocked its light through a coronagraph; The bright and dark rings around it are optical artifacts (imperfections in the image, not part of the star itself). The 2 bright orbs in the center and at the bottom right are giant exoplanets, orbiting this star, 300 light-years away. This is the first time that astronomers have directly photographed more than 1 planet orbiting a sun-like star. Image via ESO / Bohn et al.
Alexander Bohn, who led the research, is a Ph.D. student at Leiden University in the Netherlands. He stated:
This discovery is a snapshot of an environment that is very similar to our solar system, but at a much earlier stage in its evolution.
While there are several methods to detect exoplanets by how they affect the light of their stars during a transit or how their stars are lightly pulled by their gravity, obtaining images directly from them is still difficult due to the immense distances involved, even for large giant planets. Of gas. . According to co-author Matthew Kenworthy:
Despite the fact that astronomers have indirectly detected thousands of planets in our galaxy, only a small fraction of these exoplanets have been directly photographed. Direct observations are important in finding environments that can support life.
Two other planetary systems had been photographed before with more than one planet each, but none of the stars was like the sun. VLT had also photographed an exoplanet orbiting a brown dwarf, a type of "failed star", in 2004. However, this is the first time that two planets have been photographed around a sun-like star. Maddalena Reggiani, a postdoctoral researcher from Belgium, said:
Our team has now been able to take the first picture of two gas giant companions orbiting a young solar analog.
The two planets seen through various filters in SPHERE and NACO. Image via ESO / Bohn et al.
What could these newly discovered worlds be like?
They are gas giants, like Jupiter and Saturn, but they are bigger and more massive. One of the planets is approximately 14 times more massive than Jupiter, while the other is six times more massive. They also orbit farther from their star than Jupiter and Saturn around the sun. Jupiter and Saturn orbit five to ten times the distance from the Sun to Earth, while these other alien worlds orbit their star 160 to 320 times the distance from the Sun to Earth.
The TYC 8998-760-1 system appears to have a general appearance similar to our own solar system, but it is much younger, only around 17 million years old. It is like being a small child compared to our 4.6 billion year old solar system.
In the new image, the two planets can be seen as small bright spots. The star is the largest and brightest "ring" in the upper left corner of the image. It looks that way because the SPHERE instrument in VLT blocks the brightest light coming from the star using a coronagraph. In this way, the smallest and weakest planets can be seen. The researchers took different images at different times, so they could see the movements of the planets against the background of the stars.
The location of the TYC 8998-760-1 system in the Musca the Fly constellation. Image via ESO.
It was also easier to get images of these planets because they are young and therefore much warmer, making them shine brighter in infrared light.
The new planets were discovered as part of a search for giant planets around younger, sun-like stars.
Of course, researchers want to continue studying these young worlds. One question they have is whether they formed where they are currently around the star or whether they migrated from another place in the system. ESO's upcoming Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will be able to help with this as well as study how the two planets interact with each other. Bohn said:
The possibility that future instruments, such as those available in the ELT, can detect even lower-mass planets around this star marks an important milestone in understanding the systems of various planets, with possible implications for the history of our own system. solar.
Alexander Bohn of Leiden University, who led the new research. Image via Leiden University.
On June 3, 2013, ESO announced the successful image of exoplanet HD 95086 b, also some 300 light-years away, which is another giant world four to five times more massive than Jupiter. It was also found using VLT. That planet orbits its star 56 times the distance from Earth to the sun, and twice the distance from the Sun-Neptune. The star is slightly more massive than the sun and is surrounded by a debris disk, and like TYC 8998-760-1, it is a very young star. It is estimated to be only between 10 and 17 million years old.
In 2018, a report ordered by Congress recommended that NASA lead the effort to obtain direct images of exoplanets the size of Earth (or even Earth?) Using new and future technologies.
The newer image is exciting as it is one more step to be able to photograph smaller alien worlds such as super-Earths and planets the same size as Earth. Will we finally find another "pale blue dot"?
Orbits of the 2 giant exoplanets that orbit the star TYC 8998-760-1. They are gas giant worlds, much like Jupiter and Saturn, but they are larger and more massive. Jupiter and Saturn orbit 5 to 10 times the Earth-Sun distance. The 2 giant exoplanets that orbit TYC 8998-760-1 are 160 and 320 times the distance from Earth to the Sun.
Bottom line: For the first time, astronomers have obtained direct images of two giant exoplanets orbiting a sun-like star. The star is TYC 8998-760-1, 300 light years from Earth.
Source: Two giant wide-orbiting planets with direct images around the young solar analog TYC 8998-760-1?
Via European Southern Observatory
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