A Peak beyond Known Limits
Posted on November 15, 2008 by admin Under Science · Leave a Comment
It’s a first in the history of mankind that we possess the technology to take photos of other planetary systems. Researchers have discovered somewhere out there a galaxy very much like our own with several planets orbiting around a large sun. The first picture in the series was taken recently by the Hubble Telescope and it depicts a planet that is orbiting the star we know as Fomalhaut. This bright sun can be found in the Piscis Australis Constellation which is located very far away from us, about 25 light-years from us to be more precise. The following picture was obtained by upstaging two observatories from Hawaii, Keck and Gemini, and it shows a different sun star which is located even further, 130 light-years away, and the two planets that orbit around it. Amazing what technology can do, isn’t t?
Next we have some snapshots from Hubble with what the stars and planets really look like. NASA specialists have labeled the highlighted little part on the right of the picture as Fomalhaut B, which was kind of unimaginative of them, but who are we to judge? In order to capture this image, Hubble blocked out the shiniest part of the sun so that we can perceive it.
This is a more artistic picture of the HR8799 star and the planets surrounding it. Scientists say that there is a third planet out there as it results from their calculations but we still have to look for it as no pictures of it were taken so far.
As a conclusion, we don’t know if there is life out there but we sure know that there are a lot of places similar to our galaxy that could one day sustain life. If you’re thinking these pictures were taken from Lord of the Rings, don’t worry, they’re not. As technology improves, better and more detailed pictures will be released to the public and we’ll all be able to admire the wonders of the world.
No related posts.
| |