'Clear' image shows exoplanet, researchers say
QMI Agency
First posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 11:35 AM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 11:46 AM EDT
A camera attached to a powerful telescope has taken the first clear images of an exoplanet -- located outside our solar system -- a new research paper says.
Canadian scientists helped develop the Gemini Planet Imager, which was built for the Gemini Telescope located in Cerro Pachon, Chile.
In a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers say when it was turned to maximum sensitivity to find faint planets near bright stars, it "clearly" detected the planet, Beta Pictoris b, "in a single exposure with minimal post-processing."
The camera was developed with help from researchers at the University of Toronto, University of Montreal, and the National Research Council of Canada.
Beta Pictoris b is located approximately 63 light-years away in the constellation Pictor. A study released April 30 said the planet's equator spins at almost 100,000 km/h and a day lasts just eight hours.
This artist’s view shows the planet Beta Pictoris b orbiting the young star Beta Pictoris. This exoplanet is the first to have its rotation rate measured. Its eight-hour day corresponds to an equatorial rotation speed of 100 000 kilometres/hour — much faster than any planet in the Solar System. (Photo: European Southern Observatory/Handout/QMI Agency)
'Clear' image shows exoplanet, researchers say | World | News | Toronto Sun
QMI Agency
First posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 11:35 AM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, May 13, 2014 11:46 AM EDT
A camera attached to a powerful telescope has taken the first clear images of an exoplanet -- located outside our solar system -- a new research paper says.
Canadian scientists helped develop the Gemini Planet Imager, which was built for the Gemini Telescope located in Cerro Pachon, Chile.
In a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers say when it was turned to maximum sensitivity to find faint planets near bright stars, it "clearly" detected the planet, Beta Pictoris b, "in a single exposure with minimal post-processing."
The camera was developed with help from researchers at the University of Toronto, University of Montreal, and the National Research Council of Canada.
Beta Pictoris b is located approximately 63 light-years away in the constellation Pictor. A study released April 30 said the planet's equator spins at almost 100,000 km/h and a day lasts just eight hours.
This artist’s view shows the planet Beta Pictoris b orbiting the young star Beta Pictoris. This exoplanet is the first to have its rotation rate measured. Its eight-hour day corresponds to an equatorial rotation speed of 100 000 kilometres/hour — much faster than any planet in the Solar System. (Photo: European Southern Observatory/Handout/QMI Agency)
'Clear' image shows exoplanet, researchers say | World | News | Toronto Sun