University of Sao Paulo Astronomers find HIP 11915 with Jupiter-like exoplanet – Earth 2.0 beckons in the Jovian Moons

“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:

Journal Astronomy and Astrophysics