Scientists have discovered a solar system similar to ours that contains scaled-down versions of Saturn and Jupiter. This finding suggests that our galaxy hosts many star systems like our own. Click on image for full size (51 Kb) Courtesy of KASI - CBNU - ARCSEC (KASI is the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, CBNU is the Chungbuk National University, and ARCSEC is Astrophysical Research Center for the Structure and Evolution of the Cosmos.)

A team of international astronomers reports in the Feb. 15 issue of Science the discovery of a solar system nearly 5,000 light years away containing scaled-down versions of Jupiter and Saturn. Their findings suggest that our galaxy could conceivably contain many star systems similar to our own. The National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored the research.

"NSF is delighted to have played a role in enabling such an exciting discovery," said Michael Briley, a program manager in NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences. "One of the outstanding questions has been whether or not planetary systems like ours are common, and it appears they may well be."

The new solar system appears to be a smaller analog of our own. One of its planets has 70 percent of Jupiter's mass and another has 90 percent of Saturn's mass. The sun they orbit has about 50 percent the mass of the sun. Although the star is much dimmer than our sun, temperatures at both planets are likely to be similar to that of Jupiter and Saturn because they are closer to their star.

"The fascinating part is that if we 'scale' everything to the mass and brightness of the parent star, the masses of these planets relative to their star, and the amount of sunlight they receive, [the planets] are close to our own Jupiter and Saturn," said lead author Scott Gaudi, assistant professor of astronomy at Ohio State University. "So what we've found is a solar system analog, or a 'scaled solar system.'"

The two planets were revealed when the star they orbit crossed in front of a more distant star being observed from Earth. For a two-week period from late March through early April of 2006, the nearer star magnified the light shining from the farther star. The phenomenon is called gravitational microlensing -- in this case, the light from the more distant star was magnified 500 times.

The gravitational microlensing technique is based on a concept first discussed by Albert Einstein in the early 20th century. When astronomers observe a star, the light waves generally travel straight from the star to the telescope; however, if another star passes in between, even if great distances separate the two, the gravity of the nearer object acts like a lens and magnifies the incoming light. Telescopes cannot resolve the details of the magnified image, but they do notice a peak in light intensity--and when a planet is present around the closer star, the planet's gravity adds a small peak of its own. Astronomers can use this occurrence to determine how large the planet is and how far away it is from its star.

"This is the first case in which a Jupiter-mass planet was detected [where] we had significant sensitivity to additional planets," Gaudi said. "You could call it luck, but I think it might just mean that these systems are common throughout our galaxy."

Text above is courtesy of the National Science Foundation

Scientists have discovered a solar system similar to ours that contains scaled-down versions of Saturn and Jupiter. This finding suggests that our galaxy hosts many star systems like our own. Click on image for full size (51 Kb) Courtesy of KASI - CBNU - ARCSEC (KASI is the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, CBNU is the Chungbuk National University, and ARCSEC is Astrophysical Research Center for the Structure and Evolution of the Cosmos.)

For a long time, scientists have wondered if there are other systems of planets like our own in our galaxy. Recently a team of astronomers discovered a solar system almost 5,000 light years away that has smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn. This discovery means that there might actually be star systems similar to our solar system.

The new solar system seems to be a smaller version of our own. One of the planets in this solar system has almost three-quarters of Jupiter's mass and another has 90 percent of Saturn's mass. The sun they orbit has about half the mass of our sun. Although their sun is is not as bright as our sun, temperatures at both planets are probably the same as temperatures on Jupiter and Saturn because they are closer to their star.

When astronomers observe a star through a telescope, the light waves usually travel straight from the star to the telescope; but if another star passes in between the telescope and the star they are looking at, the closer star acts like a lens and magnifies the incoming light. The telescope can't show a lot of details, but if there are planets orbiting around the closer star, the view from the telescope will show a brighter light where there is a planet. Astronomers can use this information to tell how large the planet is and how far away it is from its star.

This is what happened when the astronomers discovered the new solar system. While they were looking at one star another, another star that is closer to Earth passed in front of the star they were observing. The light from the stars became brighter and the astronomers were able to tell that there were planets like Jupiter and Saturn orbiting around the star.

Scott Gaudi, one of the astronomers who worked on this project, said that while people might think it was lucky that they were able to see this new solar system, he thinks "it might just mean that these systems are common throughout our galaxy."

Scientists have discovered a solar system similar to ours that has smaller versions of Saturn and Jupiter. Click on image for full size (51 Kb) Courtesy of KASI - CBNU - ARCSEC (KASI is the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, CBNU is the Chungbuk National University, and ARCSEC is Astrophysical Research Center for the Structure and Evolution of the Cosmos.)

For a long time, scientists have wondered if there are other systems of planets like our own in our galaxy. Recently scientists discovered a solar system that has smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn. This discovery means that there might actually be other solar systems similar to our solar system in our galaxy.

Scientists think the new solar system is smaller version of our own. One of the planets in this solar system is almost almost the same size as Jupiter, and another is almost the same as Saturn. The sun they orbit is smaller than our sun. Their sun is is not as bright as ours, but temperatures at both planets are probably the same as temperatures on Jupiter and Saturn because they are closer to their sun.

Scott Gaudi, one of the astronomers who worked on this project, said that since they were able to see this new solar system, he thinks more of them throughout our galaxy.