Possible planet find in Fomalhaut system via the Hubble observations

[SiberianTiger]

References:
http://www.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/get-proposal-info?11818
http://archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/proposal_search?mission=hst&id=11818

The planet candidate lies 18 astronomical units interior to the dust belt and we detect counterclockwise orbital motion in observations separated by 1.75 years. The candidate has mass no greater than three Jupiter masses based on an analysis of its luminosity and the dynamical argument that a significantly more massive object would disrupt the dust belt. Using recent model predictions for 100-300 Myr old planetary atmospheres, the planet candidate has a temperature of ~400 K and a mass 1.6 - 3.4 M_J. Variability at optical wavelengths suggests additional sources of luminosity such as H-alpha emission or the episodic accretion of cometary material.

Additional deep images in and and out of the 1.14 micron water trough using NIC1 narrowband filters will test whether or not the emission is produced from the passive cooling of a young massive planet.

If all of this will be proven true, then it will become a unique exoplanet find of the time: in orbit of a bright visible to naked eye star 28 ly away, in orbit of an A spectrum class star, imaged directly and also - it may become the smallest and coolest exoplanet imaged directly up to date. It may possibly reside within the Fomalhaut's green belt, but given the young age of this system it's likely to be a harsh place for any life.

Here's a Hubble pic of the nebula surrounding Fomalhaut (α Piscis Australis)

 

[JamesG]

 

[Hielor]

I move that they name the planet Middle-Earth, or Mordor, or Barad-Dur, because as JamesG pointed out, the similarity is striking.

 

[Ghostrider]

Either Mordor, Barad-Dûr, Gorgoroth or Dol Guldur. If it has a moon, could be Sammath Naur.
But shouldn't Lianna of Fomalhaut claim rights over it?

 

[Michael Z Freeman]

It's extraordinary the innovations going on to allow this kind of imaging. The last time I checked up on this subject I saw predictions that it would be decades before we could image another planet.

I hope it's not just a speck of dust on the lens ! :rofl:

But this is not the only one ...

See here and here.

 

[Notebook]

ESA article:-

http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=43721

N.