Direct Imaging Discovery of a Jovian Exoplanet Within a Triple Star System [EPA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/1607.02525


Direct imaging allows for the detection and characterization of exoplanets via their thermal emission. We report the discovery via imaging of a young Jovian planet in a triple star system and characterize its atmospheric properties through near-infrared spectroscopy. The semi-major axis of the planet is closer relative to that of its hierarchical triple star system than for any known exoplanet within a stellar binary or triple, making HD 131399 dynamically unlike any other known system. The location of HD 131399Ab on a wide orbit in a triple system demonstrates that massive planets may be found on long and possibly unstable orbits in multi-star systems. HD 131399Ab is one of the lowest mass (4+/-1 MJup) and coldest (850+/-50 K) exoplanets to have been directly imaged.

Read this paper on arXiv…

K. Wagner, D. Apai, M. Kasper, et. al.
Tue, 12 Jul 16
10/71

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