MOA-2007-BLG-192L is a low-mass
red dwarf
''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
or
brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen ( 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main-sequence star. Instead, they have a mass between the most ...
, approximately 3,000
light-year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
s away in the
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
of
Sagittarius. It is estimated to have a mass approximately 6% of the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
's.
In 2008, an
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
-sized
extrasolar planet
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, init ...
was announced to be orbiting this object.
Planetary system
The discovery of a planet,
, orbiting this object was announced on June 2, 2008.
[ MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb: A Low-Mass Planet with a Possible Sub-Stellar-Mass Host]
, David P. Bennett. Accessed on line July 3, 2008. This planet, with a mass of approximately 3.3 times that of
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, is one of the smallest known extrasolar
planets
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young ...
. It was found when it caused a
gravitational microlensing
Gravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon due to the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects that range from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardless of the light they emit. Typically, astronomers ...
event on the night of May 24, 2007, which was detected as part of the
MOA-II gravitational
microlensing
Gravitational microlensing is an astronomical phenomenon due to the gravitational lens effect. It can be used to detect objects that range from the mass of a planet to the mass of a star, regardless of the light they emit. Typically, astronomers ...
survey at the
Mount John University Observatory
University of Canterbury Mount John Observatory (UCMJO), previously known as Mt John University Observatory (MJUO), is New Zealand's premier astronomical research observatory. It is situated at ASL atop Mount John at the northern end of the ...
in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
See also
*
HD 181433
HD 181433 is a star located approximately 87 light-years away in the constellation of Pavo (the Peacock). According to SIMBAD, it has a stellar classification of K3III-IV, which puts it on the borderline between being a red giant and a su ...
*
HD 40307
HD 40307 is an orange ( K-type) main-sequence star located approximately 42 light-years away in the constellation of Pictor (the Easel), taking its primary name from its Henry Draper Catalogue designation. It is calculated to be slightly ...
*
HD 47186
HD 47186 is a star located approximately 129 light-years away in the constellation of Canis Major. It is a G6V star with the characteristics very similar to the Sun, but it is 1.7 times more metal-rich. In 2008, two extrasolar planets wer ...
*
MOA-2007-BLG-400L
*
OGLE-2005-BLG-390L
References
External links
*
*
Sagittarius (constellation)
Planetary systems with one confirmed planet
Gravitational lensing
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