This is a picture made by an artist to show what the Jupiter-like planet orbiting the star, 55 Cancri, might look like. We do not have photographs of what it actually looks like because the planet is about 41 light years from Earth. A small moon is shown in front of the planet because moons are thought to be common around this type of planet, but no moon has been found. Click on image for full size (16KB) (c) 2002 Lynette Cook. Permission granted to NASA to display

A team of scientists found 13 planets that are outside our solar system. Because these planets are outside our solar system, they are called exoplanets. One of these exoplanets is special because it may be somewhat like Jupiter. It is orbiting around a star in the Cancer constellation.

Most exoplanets are very close to a star and make small circles as they orbit around the star. This planet is special because it is far away from its star and takes a long time to orbit around it, just like Jupiter.

Jupiter is more than four times further from the Sun than Earth and it takes Jupiter about 12 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. The new planet is a about the same distance from its star and takes 13 years to orbit around the star.

But the new planet is not exactly like Jupiter. It is much more massive than Jupiter and its orbit is a different shape than Jupiter’s orbit. The new planet follows a path shaped like an oval as it orbits around the star. The shape of Jupiter’s orbit is more like a circle.

Including the 13 exoplanets that this team of scientists just found, there are now more than 90 known exoplanets! The team hopes that they will someday find more exoplanets that are like the planets within our solar system.

This is a picture made by an artist to show what the Jupiter-like planet orbiting the star, 55 Cancri, might look like. We do not have photographs of what it actually looks like because the planet is about 41 light years from Earth. A small moon is shown in front of the planet because moons are thought to be common around this type of planet, but no moon has been found. Click on image for full size (16KB) (c) 2002 Lynette Cook. Permission granted to NASA to display

A team of astronomers, who have been peering into the skies for many years, announced that they have found 13 planets outside our solar system called exoplanets. This brings the total number of known exoplanets to over 90!

The team is very excited about one of their discoveries. An exoplanet orbiting a star called 55 Cancri, within the Cancer constellation, is very different from any of the others that have been found. Dr Marcy, a leader of the research team, described that, “all other extrasolar planets discovered up to now orbit closer to the parent star, and most of them have had elongated, eccentric orbits. This new planet orbits as far from its star as Jupiter orbits from the Sun.”

Jupiter is about four and a half times further from the Sun than Earth and takes about 12 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. The new planet is a similar distance from its star and takes 13 years to complete one orbit around the star.

The new planet is not exactly like Jupiter, however. It is much more massive than Jupiter. Its orbit is different than Jupiter’s orbit, taking an oval-shaped route around the star instead of a more circular route. Even though the new planet is not exactly like Jupiter, they are similar enough that the research team is hopeful that we may someday find more exoplanets that are like planets in our own solar system.

This is a picture made by an artist to show what the Jupiter-like planet orbiting the star, 55 Cancri, might look like. We do not have photographs of what it actually looks like because the planet is about 41 light years from Earth. A small moon is shown in front of the planet because moons are thought to be common around this type of planet, but no moon has been found. Click on image for full size (16KB) (c) 2002 Lynette Cook. Permission granted to NASA to display

Astronomers Dr. Geoffrey Marcy and Dr. Paul Butler announced that, after 15 years of observation, their team has found 13 extrasolar planets (or exoplanets), and that one of these exoplanets may be somewhat like Jupiter. The planet that reminds the scientists of Jupiter is orbiting a star called 55 Cancri, within the Cancer constellation.

The research team is very excited about the discovery of this planet because it is very different from any of the other 90 or so exoplanets that have been identified so far. As Dr Marcy states, “all other extrasolar planets discovered up to now orbit closer to the parent star, and most of them have had elongated, eccentric orbits. This new planet orbits as far from its star as Jupiter orbits from the Sun.”

Jupiter is about four and a half times further from the Sun than Earth and it takes the planet about 12 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. The new planet, a similar distance from 55 Cancri, takes 13 years to orbit around the star.

The new planet is not the only one orbiting 55 Cancri. There is another exoplanet, discovered in 1996, that orbits very close to the star. Scientists suspect that there may be a third exoplanet orbiting the star as well.

The new planet is not exactly like Jupiter, however. It is much more massive than Jupiter, with a mass about 3.5-5 times greater. Its orbit is also different than Jupiter’s, taking an elliptical route around the star. Even though differences exist, the scientific team is encouraged that we may someday find more exoplanets that are like those in our own solar system.