Artist's impression of a transiting extrasolar planet
This is an artist's impression of a Jupiter-sized planet passing in front of its parent star. Such events are called transits. When the planet transits the star, the star's apparent brightness drops by a few percent for a short period. Through this technique, astronomers can use the Hubble Space Telescope to search for planets across the galaxy by measuring periodic changes in a star's luminosity. The first class of extrasolar planets found by this technique are the so-called "hot Jupiters", which are so close to their stars they complete an orbit within days, or even hours.
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About the Image
Id: | heic0612b |
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Type: | Artwork |
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Release date: | 4 October 2006, 19:00 |
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Related releases: | heic0612 |
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Size: | 4000 x 3000 px |
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About the Object
Type: | Unspecified : Planet : Special Cases : Hot Jupiter |
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Category: | Illustrations
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