multiple planet system discovered by gravitational microlensing

[janoskiss]

Two planets similar to Saturn and Jupiter discovered orbiting star 5000ly away. This is the first multiplanet system discovered outside our own solar system. More here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080214144532.htm

[Greg Bryant]

Steve,

Actually, it's the first multiplanet system found by microlensing.

There are dozens of other stars besides our Sun known to have more than 1 planet orbiting them,. The leader is 55 Cancri, with 5 known planets (I wrote on this in AS&T Jan/Feb 2008, page 10).

Cheers,
Greg

[janoskiss]

Thanks for the correction Greg, got a little overexcited hearing it on the news! :)

[CosMos]

Two of the observers were from Auckland NZ, my great friends Grant Christie and Jennie McCormick. :party: :drink:

[Starkler]

Exciting stuff :)

I wonder what the current count of known extra-solar planets is now?

[xelasnave]

If it makes stuff appear larger why do they call it microlensing..:shrug::):D:lol::lol: :lol:
Yes I read this earlier and again today from someone else postings elsewhere..this is far more exciting than earlier discoveries for the fact of the lensing aspect ...to me anyways:D.

But what a job it must be following a stars wobble and taking it from there to compute the planets....beyond my little brain...my hat off to these folk:thumbsup:.

I wonder if you can get gravitationally lensed xrays for example...I mean if there was a visual source that had xrays as well..would xrays (or other even more exotic stuff) follow the same path or would over such a trip would they diverge in a different manner ..like light thru a prism for a ruff parrallel. They would have to you would think??? see my problem the old mind runs away out there...rarely comes back acually:lol::lol::lol:
alex:):):)

[OneOfOne]

I think the current count is WAY over 200...probably closer to 300 now... It makes you think that if big planets like this are so common, how common must planets of a similar size to Earth be! Exciting stuff for sure!

Now if we could just see some of them...I am sure Iceman would love to image an exo-Jupiter!