First exoplanet photo

JoshL

JoshL

http://www.gemini.edu/node/12113

Was going to dig up the old exoplanet thread, but hey, this deserves a new one. We have taken a picture of a planet orbiting another star. In the past couple years, we've known they're there thanks to the great work being done by the Kepler folks. But now we have a picture (occulting the star it orbits, since there's no other way we'd see it right now).

We live in exciting times!
 
It wasn't in the article, so I looked it up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_Pictoris The star is 63.4 light years away. From what I understand, the work they do in the coming years will lead to infrared signatures of planets, and using that to determine if there is life on a planet.

Depending on how far they can get readings and how much data they collect, it will be interesting to see. We're in kind of a galactic backwater, so I'm not sure if that bodes well or ill for finding evidence of other lifeforms. And our ability to communicate with them once they find them is less than nil, but it's exciting and drives the imagination!
 
That's far out cool.

And I recently heard about Gaia, too. It doesn't seem to say it in that article, but I thought that the TV thing I heard about it said Gaia would be able to actually photograph some exoplanets directly. Or did I make that up (wishful thinking)?

In any case, like you said, exciting times. =)
 
That Gaia looks pretty nice! Can't wait to see what it comes up with. The article does mention it's going to be working with the Kepler data also, so it might get some good exoplanet shots! Links to the site to add to my watch list: http://sci.esa.int/gaia/ According to that, Gaia just reached operational orbit yesterday, so that should be happening soon!

And a little gem from the CNN writeup:

...astronomers believe there are at least 100 billion stars in our galaxy.

Tens of billions like Earth, study says
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I know what they mean, but it still made me giggle. Global warming hasn't gotten THAT bad!
 
Ah, noop, darn. I guess Gaia will only detect exoplanets the old fashioned way. Do I understand that right? From the ESA site:

For stars within a distance of approximately 150 light-years from the Sun, Gaia is expected to find every Jupiter-sized planet with an orbital period of 1.5 - 9 years. It will do this by watching out for tiny wobbles in the star's position. This behaviour is caused when a star is tugged by the gravitational pull of a planet in orbit around it. In our own Solar System Jupiter, and to a lesser extent all the other planets, do this to the Sun, making it wobble. Estimates suggest that Gaia will detect between 10 000 and 50 000 planets beyond our Solar System.
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Well that just makes what the GPI is doing that much more special. It can take an actual photograph of an exoplanet, right? So cool.

And,

Looking through Earth’s turbulent atmosphere, even with advanced adaptive optics, GPI will only be able to see Jupiter-sized planets. But similar technology is being proposed for future space telescopes.

“Some day, there will be an instrument that will look a lot like GPI, on a telescope in space,” Macintosh projects. “And the images and spectra that will come out of that instrument will show a little blue dot that is another Earth.”
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I think I hope to live to see such images that are more than just a "little...dot."

Hey, this is cool. Hubble telescope spots azure blue planet where it rains glass

Sometimes life is stranger than fiction? So maybe it's true that sometimes the science of astrophysics turns up more amazing things than the imaginations of fiction writers? =)
 
That is awesome stuff. The raining glass makes me think of the Dragonriders of Pern books! The Hubble has been doing some pretty great work, and some beautiful photography! I agree that we'll probably see some decent planet shots in our lifetime. Can't wait for that!

What would be really great is if we could get a hi-res camera/telescope and toss it on a Voyager-style ship, bound for parts unknown! Given that we can STILL communicate (and execute commands!) on Voyager with 36 year old tech, imagine what we could do now! And that would definitely eliminate the atmospheric interference (my new band name) to get some wonderful photos. I'd imagine there'd be some heavy R&D involved there.

And, hey, while they're at it, they could prototype some long range ion engines and/or radiation shielding to take the next step into getting us to the next planet over. Or any of the others. Except Europa. Attempt no landing there.
 
JoshL said:
What would be really great is if we could get a hi-res camera/telescope and toss it on a Voyager-style ship, bound for parts unknown! Given that we can STILL communicate (and execute commands!) on Voyager with 36 year old tech, imagine what we could do now! And that would definitely eliminate the atmospheric interference (my new band name) to get some wonderful photos. I'd imagine there'd be some heavy R&D involved there.
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Man, that is an awesome idea. Voyager 3. I hope they are considering that. Or will be soon.

JoshL said:
And, hey, while they're at it, they could prototype some long range ion engines and/or radiation shielding to take the next step into getting us to the next planet over. Or any of the others. Except Europa. Attempt no landing there.
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:lol: Yes! Oh, you saw that movie too? =)

Although, wouldn't be sweet if they sent a probe to drill into it, maybe set a unmanned sub with a camera etc loose inside of it...preferably within our lifetimes? Is that asking too much? =P

Maybe what would be required, to avoid putting all of their eggs and too much expense into one mission, is a two or multi-part program. First send the thing or things to accomplish the drilling. Then send the thing or things that will go down the hole and into the sea that's hopefully there. Hey, wait minute. That sounds pretty time consuming. They'd better get started on that right away!
 
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