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Planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani

Posted by Andy W. on 2000/08/04 18:03

Grabbed from Ceefax this afternoon:
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ASTRONOMERS FIND PLANET ORBITING A STAR
Astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting the star Epsilon Eridani,
which at 10.5 light years away is the closest star with a planet yet known.

This means the Hubble Space Telescope may be able to obtain an image of it.
If so, it would be the first planet actually seen circling a star.

The planet, probably larger than Jupiter, was spotted by University of Texas
McDonald Observatory. It orbits Epsilon Eridani from about 500m km.
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This is one of the closest stars similar to our own. There are closer stars,
but they are almost all crappy small red ones. Epsilon Eridani is somewhat
dimmer than the Sun (magnitude 6 compared to magnitude 5 for the Sun), but
this planet orbits at about 2/3rds the orbital radius of Jupiter.

This bodes well. Epsilon Eridani is bound to be a prime target for the next
generation of telescopes and with luck we might hear of a rocky planet
orbitting in the life zone.

Andy

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andy@
www.knightsofni.freeserve.co.uk
07968 357 854

Planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani

Posted by Philip Ayres on 2000/08/04 19:11

ASTRONOMERS FIND PLANET ORBITING A STAR

There's a section in BBC's The Planets about hunting for planets round other
stars. Still trying to shift my video copy - though the Prisoner Box set
is now gone.

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Philip Ayres
payres@
www.netcomuk.co.uk
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Planet orbiting Epsilon Eridani

Posted by Simon Richardson on 2000/08/05 08:56

In article <000301bffe36$3b987700$6700a8c0@>, "Andrew Wren" <andy@> wrote:

Grabbed from Ceefax this afternoon:
________________

ASTRONOMERS FIND PLANET ORBITING A STAR
Astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting the star Epsilon Eridani,
which at 10.5 light years away is the closest star with a planet yet known.

What you don't know is how many IFIS people who are also roleplayers are
choking on their cornflakes while reading this. Thanks for that - the best
laugh of the day.

Any of you want to find out what all the fuss is about, let me know. I
should be running it again during the summer, if the interest is there.

"A knight falls from the Starry River"
"Takes the token of a virgin queen"
"Folly frees old Neptune's secrets"
"Never more will they be seen"

Simon

"This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind" -Ecclesiastes 4:16

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