SoulAsylum
29-05-06, 10:32 AM
HONOLULU, HI, United States (UPI) -- Astronomers at Haleakala High Altitude Observatory in Hawaii Friday announced the discovery of a new planet about 600 light-years away.
The astronomers, using a telescope made from store-bought 200-mm camera lenses and a half-century-old computer (http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1165328.php/New_planet_spotted_600_light-years_away#), spotted XO-1b in the Corona Borealis constellation, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported.
'It`s really kind of cool. ... It`s very exciting,' said James Heasley of the University of Hawaii, who along with Ken Janes of Boston University developed the software (http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1165328.php/New_planet_spotted_600_light-years_away#) used in making the discovery. The software was designed to measure the intensity of a star`s brightness, so a slight reduction meant the presence of an orbiting planet. The discovery was verified by high-tech telescopes at the McDonald Observatory in Texas.
The Haleakala telescope originally was used to view satellites (http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1165328.php/New_planet_spotted_600_light-years_away#) in the 1950s.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1165328.php/New_planet_spotted_600_light-years_away
The astronomers, using a telescope made from store-bought 200-mm camera lenses and a half-century-old computer (http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1165328.php/New_planet_spotted_600_light-years_away#), spotted XO-1b in the Corona Borealis constellation, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported.
'It`s really kind of cool. ... It`s very exciting,' said James Heasley of the University of Hawaii, who along with Ken Janes of Boston University developed the software (http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1165328.php/New_planet_spotted_600_light-years_away#) used in making the discovery. The software was designed to measure the intensity of a star`s brightness, so a slight reduction meant the presence of an orbiting planet. The discovery was verified by high-tech telescopes at the McDonald Observatory in Texas.
The Haleakala telescope originally was used to view satellites (http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1165328.php/New_planet_spotted_600_light-years_away#) in the 1950s.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
http://science.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1165328.php/New_planet_spotted_600_light-years_away