Distant Planets Shed Light For Spitzer To See

Light originating from two planets residing outside of our solar system has been observed for the first time using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. From NASA's point of view, this discovery, the first of its kind, ushers in "a new age of planetary science." Using the telescope, scientists can now focus efforts on cataloging and measuring "extrasolar" planets. "Spitzer has provided us with a powerful new tool for learning about the temperatures, atmospheres and orbits of planets hundreds of light-years from Earth," said Dr. Drake Deming of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., lead author of a new study on one of the planets. Dr. David Charbonneau of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics agrees with Dr Deming's analysis by saying, "It's fantastic. We've been hunting for this light for almost 10 years, ever since extrasolar planets were first discovered." According to NASA, Spitzer observed light from two "hot Jupiter" (gaseous) planets, designated HD 209458b and TrES-1, directly. In order to differentiate between the light stars and planets, astronomers turned to a comparison method. A measurement of the two newly discovered planets puts their respective surface temperatures at a minimum of 1000 degrees Kelvin (1340 Fahrenheit). Murdok. Visit Murdok for the