Smallest exoplanet ever observed orbits nearby star
JUN 04, 2013
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027068
Ars Technica : Astronomers have directly imaged the smallest exoplanet to date. It appears to orbit the star HD 95086, about 300 light-years from Earth. Because planets tend to be faint compared with the stars they orbit, most of the ones detected so far have been inferred indirectly by their effect on the light emitted by their parent star. The dozen or so that have been directly imaged were both large—and therefore relatively bright—and located far away from their star. This latest planet is rare in that it is relatively small, just four to five times the mass of Jupiter. What puzzles astronomers is that the exoplanet is farther away from its star than is considered normal for such a gas giant. Further observations should provide final confirmation.
© 2013 American Institute of Physics
