November 13, 2008 - Astronomy.com
For the first time, astronomers have taken snapshots of a multi-planet solar system, much like ours, orbiting another star.
The new solar system orbits a dusty young star named HR8799, which is 140 light-years away and about 1.5 times the size of our Sun. Three planets, roughly 10, 10, and 7 times the mass of Jupiter, orbit the star. The size of the planets decreases with distance from the parent star, much like the giant planets do in our system.
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The team of researchers included representatives from Livermore; the National Research Council of Canada Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics; Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); and several other institutions. The group used high-contrast, near-infrared adaptive optics observations with the Keck and Gemini Telescopes to capture the image.
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