extrasolar planets
Extrasolar planets
- we believe our solar system is typical
- see news article on clearing of early debris after planets form
- we expect many other stars to have planets
- are the planets similar to ours?
- are their any earth-like planets?
- Periodic doppler shifts in the spectra of ~20 nearby stars have been interpreted as indicating orbiting planets
- curiously, the planets are as massive as Jupiter, but typically have much smaller orbits, some inside of Mercury’
- Confirmation of orbiting planet is given by the observed wobble of one star (see www news)
- mass of planet (from position of center of mass) 10 times the mass of Jupiter!
- orbital radius of planet (from K/N III) ~ 2 AU (vs. 5 AU for Jupiter)