Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

First Reflected Light From an Exoplanet Seen

Posted by Zonk on from the someone-has-a-really-big-mirror dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "European astronomers have for the first time ever been able to detect and monitor the visible light that is scattered in the atmosphere of an exoplanet. Designated HD 189733b, also known as a 'hot Jupiter,' orbits a star slightly cooler and less massive than the Sun about 60 light-years from Earth. According to a Zurich news release, 'Polarization technique focuses limelight,' the researchers used 'techniques similar to how Polaroid sunglasses filter away reflected sunlight to reduce glare. They also directly traced the orbit of the planet, a feat of visualization not possible using indirect methods.' The team thinks that their findings are opening new opportunities for exploring physical conditions on exoplanets."

4 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. If only... by Scutter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If only there were some sort of multi-media-enabled information sharing platform available so that everyone could see the visualizations for themselves. Oh well.

    --

    "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
    1. Re:If only... by jd · · Score: 2, Insightful

      No, the joke didn't fly over my head. It was obviously meant in jest. However, my reply is correct - to get an accurate 1 pixel image, you need a square kilometer array. To get something 2x2 pixels in size (about the size of a small o), you'd need an array a mile across. And for all of that, all you'd see is an image that looked almost exactly like an o - fairly uniform in the middle with a well-defined boundary. Thus, the true joke is that the joke is also true.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  2. Polaroid Sunglasses? by parcanman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "...the researchers used 'techniques similar to how Polaroid sunglasses filter away reflected sunlight to reduce glare..." Funny, I didn't even know Polaroid made sunglasses, here I thought they only made photography stuff. I assume the writer meant Polarized sunglasses?

    --
    Why lie when you can just make up stuff and claim it to be true?
  3. Re:Where is the picture? by mangu · · Score: 2, Insightful
    The picture would show nothing more than a blurry spot, with one pixel slightly different from the others.


    Or did you really expect the very first reflected light ever seen from an exoplanet to be anything remarkable to a layperson?