Tuesday, 2 April 2013

solar system - Which is the closest exoplanet to Earth?

Funnily enough, just until recently, the nearest exoplanet Alpha Centauri Bb was believed to be




a planet with a similar mass to Earth's just 4.3 light years away in the nearby Alpha Centauri system.




Source: Nearest exoplanet to Earth may be a ghost world (Aron, 2013). However, according to the article, recent observations have suggested that it may not actually be there. So the answer to this question is not all that clear.



The Paris Observatory has a list of all exoplanets in a sortable database at exoplanet.eu.



According to the Paris Observatory catalogue, if Alpha Centauri Bb does not actually exist, the next closest is the just-larger-than Jupiter sized Epsilon Eradani B (not a hot-Jupiter), at 10.5 light years away. Which according to Nearest Planet Beyond Solar System Might Be Photogenic (Than, 2006):




About 1.5 more massive than Jupiter, the planet takes 7-years to circle its star, Epsilon Eridani. The giant gas planet was originally detected in 2000, when astronomers noticed a rocking motion in the star which they attributed to the gravitational tug of an unseen planet.




There is speculation that more planets may exist in that system as with dust rings.

No comments:

Post a Comment