Oct 4 2006
From The Space Library
Data from NASA’s HST revealed 16 objects, possibly the most distant planets ever observed by the HST. Scientists believed that the objects were extrasolar planets—planets located outside of Earth’s solar system—orbiting various stars in the Milky Way’s central region, 26,000 light- years away from Earth. Because of the distance and faintness of the objects’ star systems, scientists could acquire mass measurements for only two of the planets. Therefore, they designated the objects as “candidate” extrasolar planets. The HST data also revealed that five of the newly discovered planets were Ultra-Short-Period Planets (USPPs), a type of planet not found in searches of neighboring areas of the Milky Way. USPPs orbit their stars in less than one Earth day.
NASA, “Hubble Finds Extrasolar Planets Far Across Galaxy,” news release 06-326, 4 October 2006, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/oct/HQ_06326_Extra_planets.html (accessed 31 March 2010).
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