Scientists from the Polish and US have discovered three new planetary systems – Onet.pl

Team guided by prof. Andrzej Niedzielski of Torun University and prof. Aleksander Wolszczan of the Pennsylvania University; discovery was made as part of the search for extrasolar planets.

All three planetary systems discovered accompany aging stars, which exhausted their hydrogen energy sources and form slowly in their central areas of the conditions to ignite nuclear reactions helium burning. They are characterized by considerable size. Their diameters of 8-20 rays reach our sun, while the masses are only slightly higher and amounts to 1.2-1.5 solar masses. These stars are very far away and are not visible to the naked eye.

The newly discovered systems is accompanied by the stars BD + 49 828 (ie. a red giant), HD + and HD + 95127 216536. The red giant is a star that has already burned hydrogen in its interior, forms the nucleus of the conditions to ignite nuclear reactions of helium or helium burning burning already. Before lighting a helium nucleus outer regions star slightly cool down, and its diameter increases considerably.

The star BD + 49 828 has a companion with a minimum weight corresponding to 1.6 gravity of Mars, on a slightly elongated orbit at a distance of 4.2 astronomical units (the conventional unit equals the average Earth-Sun distance, ie 149 597 87 km).

around the star HD + 95127 at a distance of 1.28 astronomical units, a nearly circular orbit circling the body with a mass equal to 5 Jupiter masses of the solar system, and the star HD + 216 536 has a companion with a mass of 1.47 Jupiter masses on a very close orbit, of just 0.61 astronomical units.

Prof. Niedzielski stressed that deserve special attention planetary systems BD + 49 828 and HD + 216 536. In the first one we are dealing with an object similar to Jupiter. The newly discovered planet BD + 49 828 b is just slightly more massive and circulates only slightly less extensive in orbit.

It orbits its star every 2,590 days, or 7.1 years and belongs to the most distant of the known extrasolar planets. At that distance that cold planet will not be susceptible to the direct threat from its star for many millions of years and will survive the successive phases of the evolution of its sun.

You can say that BD + 49 828 b outlive its star. Such planets are a true rarity. Most of the planets now known to be absorbed by its star furthest to the red giant stage.

The planet HD 216536 b, also of similar mass to Jupiter, belongs to a rare group of objects orbiting very close-in orbits with red giants. Distance at which it is located, is comparable to the orbit of Mars in our solar system. This planet is most likely in the near future absorbed by your sun when it reaches the size similar to the orbit of the planet.

The project, headed by prof. Niedzielskiego and prof. Wolszczan, in 10 years discovered 17 extrasolar systems, containing a total of 20 planets. Observations were made using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Texas.

In recent discoveries of planetary systems participated: Dr. Grzegorz Nowak (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, Tenerife and NCU), Dr. Monika Adams (University of Texas and NCU), Dr. Kacper Kowalik (University of Illinois), Dr Gratian Maciejewski (GCM) GCM and PhD student Beata Deka-Szymankiewicz and Michalina Adamczyk .