COROT's first planet

Filed under explaining science, extrasolar planets, astronomy and astrophysics spacecraft

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ESA's planet-hunting satellite COROT bagged its first exoplanet in observations of the star COROT-Exo-1. This telltale drop in the brightness of the star indicates that a planet transited the star, momentarily darkening its disk.

COROT exo-team

ESA's planet-hunting satellite COROT bagged its first exoplanet in observations of the star COROT-Exo-1, located 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros. This telltale drop in the brightness of the star indicates that a planet -- in this case, a "hot Jupiter" gas giant about 1.3 times the mass of Jupiter -- transited the star, momentarily darkening its disk. From the speed of its transit, COROT's scientists determined that the planet orbits close to the star with an orbital period of only 1.5 days.