January 30, 1996
Somewhere between the Big Bang and this birthday, the universe learned how to make kindness, curiosity, humor, memory, and hope.
70 Virginis b: A New Water Planet?
Birthday · January 30, 1996
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APOD published January 30, 1996. Credit: Royal Observatory Edinburgh, Anglo-Australian Observatory, and AURA. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The star 70 Virginis has a planet. This recent discovery is the second known case of a planet orbiting a normal star other than our Sun itself. The first case involved 51 Pegasi and was announced last year. The star 70 Vir, shown in the center of the above false-color picture, is very much like the Sun. The planet is not visible above - the unusual structure surrounding the star is caused by the telescope. The planet, designated 70 Vir b for short, was discovered by very slight periodic shifts in its colors. Defining characteristics of this planet include that it is at least eight times the mass of Jupiter, it's orbit is much smaller than Jupiter's, and it's temperature allows water to exist in liquid form - like on the Earth. Life on Earth is based on liquid water - could life exist here too?
Image credit: Royal Observatory Edinburgh, Anglo-Australian Observatory, and AURA