1. Do planets exist around other types of stars? How are they important or not, for astronomers or for the wider public?
2. Describe what is meant by a planet transit and what astronomers can learn from them.
ANY help at all is appreciated, (I will actually pick best answer) thanks!
2. Describe what is meant by a planet transit and what astronomers can learn from them.
ANY help at all is appreciated, (I will actually pick best answer) thanks!
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1- Yes, we did manage to detect exo-planets around a wide variety of star type. They are important because they help us learn about how planets should form and how frequent they should be. And in turn, how likely there are to be planets out there similar to our Earth, and be able to support life; although it would be a while before we could hope to detect life on a planet orbiting another star.
2- a transit is when a planet passes in front of its star, as seen from our perspective. How much light it blocks tells us how big the planet is. How quickly it finish passing in front of the star tells us how far away from its star it orbits, and therefore how hot it should be. Then, very subtle variations on the way the light starts and stops dimming can provide information about the presence of an atmosphere around the planet.
2- a transit is when a planet passes in front of its star, as seen from our perspective. How much light it blocks tells us how big the planet is. How quickly it finish passing in front of the star tells us how far away from its star it orbits, and therefore how hot it should be. Then, very subtle variations on the way the light starts and stops dimming can provide information about the presence of an atmosphere around the planet.
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As of April 2012, there were 763 confirmed planets around other stars. They have been known for many years now.
www.exoplanet.eu
A planet transit is when a planet passes in front of its star. This gives us information about the relative size of the planet and, if we are lucky, it might give us information about its atmosphere.
In our own Solar system, transits of Venus (there is one next month, June 2012) allowed astronomers to get a first very accurate direct measure of distances in the Solar system (by trigonometry -- many astronomers observing simultaneously from very widely separated sites on Earth).
www.exoplanet.eu
A planet transit is when a planet passes in front of its star. This gives us information about the relative size of the planet and, if we are lucky, it might give us information about its atmosphere.
In our own Solar system, transits of Venus (there is one next month, June 2012) allowed astronomers to get a first very accurate direct measure of distances in the Solar system (by trigonometry -- many astronomers observing simultaneously from very widely separated sites on Earth).
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrasolar_…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methods_of_…
You have to scroll down a bit for Planet transit and extrasolar planets. Have fun.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methods_of_…
You have to scroll down a bit for Planet transit and extrasolar planets. Have fun.
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These are pretty easy, as the first has been in the news in the past few months. And, when you read about it, you'll learn the answer to #2.