The Vega star is one of the brightest and most famous stars.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Astronomers say there is a planet around Vega star who orbit it very fast.
The star Vega is one of the brightest and most famous stars in the night sky or even at dusk. Located in the constellation Lyra, it is only 25 light years from Earth and about twice the mass of the Sun.
This was discovered by a Undergraduate Researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder Spencer Hurt. He said he had examined 10 years of data on Vega collected by the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona.
“I found what other astronomers had missed previously looking for planets around the star. There is a signal that shows something very large is orbiting Vega very quickly,” he was quoted as saying. universetosay, Friday (12/3).
A planet the size of Neptune and Jupiter orbiting a star every 2.5 Earth days fits the data perfectly. This would place the giant planet in Mercury’s orbit in terms of distance from the star. That is, it is most likely the second hottest planet ever recorded with an estimated surface temperature of 5390 degrees Fahrenheit or 2,976 Celsius.
For astronomers, having a potential planet candidate around a nearby bright star like Vega is invaluable. Analyzing any planet in the vicinity of a main sequence star will allow astronomers to model what to expect when observing planets from more distant, less bright stars.
Part of the uniqueness of any planet that is hot is the composition of its atmosphere which may include gaseous iron given the extreme temperatures at work on the world’s surface. It will also exit beyond the normal limits expected of a planet of the same size and density.
However, its existence has not been fully proven. Confirmation from other scientists is needed to definitely say that there is a world around Vega.
It’s also not the first time astronomers think they’ve found a planet orbiting Vega, although this seems a more likely candidate.
“Every time I go out and look at the night sky and see Vega, I say ‘Hey, I know that star.’ Familiarity with some of the most astonishing objects in the universe is one of the best parts of astronomy, “he said.
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