“After two decades of hunting for exoplanets, we are finally
beginning to see longperiod gas giant planets similar to those in our own
Solar System thanks to the longterm stability of planet hunting instruments
like HARPS. This discovery is, in every respect, an exciting sign that other
solar systems may be out there waiting to be discovered”
University of Chicago
Astronomer Dr. Megan Bedell, Lead Author of the paper relating their discovery
of a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting the star HIP 11915
Jupiter, it seems, has a twin.
Brazilian astronomers from the University of Sao Paulo using
the ESO 3.6metre telescope have found a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a star,
dubbed HIP 11915, that's a lot like our Sun as reported in the article “Jupiter twin
discovered around solar twin”, published July 15, 2015, Physorg.
Their research was published in the Journal
Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Specifically, they used HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity
Planet Searcher) as explained in the article “Astronomers
find another 'Jupiter' orbiting a Sun just like ours”, published July 15,
2015 by Michael Franco, CNET News.
The HARPS is an uber-precise precise planethunting
instrument, mounted on the ESO (European Southern Observatory) 3.6metre
Telescope at the La Silla, Chile to spot this star and its planet.
This has astronomers excited as the Jovian twin and its
companion star HIP 11915, located some 200 Light years away in the
Constellation Cetus as explained in the article “Newly
discovered Jupiter twin hints at new solar system similar to Earth's”,
published July 16, 2015 By Ben Brumfield, CNN
have the same masses and mean distance from each other like our own Jupiter and
Sun.
Brazilian
Astronomers find HIP 11915 with Jupiter-like exoplanet – Earth 2.0 beckons
Clearly this discovery is of great significance to quote
Astronomer Dr. Jorge Melendez, of the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil,
coauthor and team lead: “The quest for an Earth 2.0, and for a complete Solar
System 2.0, is one of the most exciting endeavors in astronomy. We are thrilled
to be part of this cuttingedge research, made possible by the observational
facilities provided by ESO”.
Jupiter played a pivotal role in life forming on Earth.
Not only did it shield Earth from direct bombardment from asteroids
by deflecting them with its massive gravity as noted in “Newly
discovered Jupiter twin hints at new solar system similar to Earth's”,
published July 16, 2015 By Ben Brumfield, CNN,
but in the earlier years of the Solar System, when the Sun was much hotter, Jupiter’s
Moons could have harboured life.
This was the theory that Astrophysicists Rene Heller and
Ralph Pudritz from the McMaster's Origins Institute had put forward as
explained in my blog
article entitled “McMaster's
Origins Institute Rene Heller and Ralph Pudritz on Gas Giant Exomoons with life
– Bigger Telescopes and UV and IR Spectra Algorithms needed”.
Jupiter's Moons could have harboured life when the Solar
System was young, as million of years ago, before the time of the Dinosaurs,
the Sun would be as big to Jupiter as it was to the early proto-Earth. This
Jupiter-like exoplanet around a similar Sun could have undergone that same
process on its exomoons, with life springing up and possibly moving on as the Sun
got smaller.
So a possible Gas Giant like Jupiter with exomoons that
harbour life?
All we need is to developed bigger ground and space based
telescopes as described in my blog article
entitled “ATLAST,
James Webb Telescope and E-ELT - Bigger Space and Ground-based Telescopes for
the Planet Hunters” to take a closer look.
This includes telescopes such as ATLAST (Advanced
Technologies Large Aperture Space Telescope), the James Webb Space Telescope
and the E-ELT (European Extremely Large Telescope) to be located in the Cerro
Armazones in Chile’s Atacama Desert followed up by an interstellar mission to
visit such planets to see if they have life.
Here’s the link:
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