Giant Planets and Variable Stars in Globular Clusters [article]

David Weldrake, University, The Australian National, University, The Australian National
2009
Over the last decade, 135 extrasolar planets have been discovered, the vast majority found by ongoing radial velocity searches. Of the stars sampled in these searches, 1% have 'Hot Jupiter' planets associated with them. Having masses equivalent to Jupiter yet orbital periods of only a few days, this new class of planet is clearly unlike anything in our Solar System. ¶ Hot Jupiters present us with an intriguing prospect. If the orientation of the planetary orbit is close to edge-on, the planet
more » ... ll periodically transit across the face of its star, resulting in a small drop in brightness. This transit phenomenon has been successfully used for planet detection over the last couple of years, allowing determination of the planetary radius and accurate mass estimates when coupled with radial velocity observations. ¶ ...
doi:10.25911/5d7a2c0475ce2 fatcat:n2onsmmet5hx3pgucshuktsbny