Field Guide To New Planets - astronomers discover new planets

Another Solar System Only one solar system around a sunlike star has been detected: Three gassy giants orbit Upsilon Andromedae, a star slightly hotter than our own, 44 light-years from Earth. It won't be alone for long, says astronomer Didier Queloz of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who codiscovered the planet at 51 Pegasi and several other worlds. "We'll be announcing one or two more planetary systems soon."

Upsilon
Andromedae b

MASS: 230 Earths
YEAR: 4.617 days
MILES FROM SUN:
5.5 million
TEMPERATURE: 1,880 [degrees] F
A typical roaster--toasty
temperatures
and a fast, nearly
circular orbit.

Upsilon
Andromedae c

MASS: 671 Earths
YEAR: 241.2 days
MILES FROM SUN:
77 million
TEMPERATURE: 170 [degrees] F.
Distance and orbital
period are comparable to
Venus, although this is
undoubtedly a gas giant.

Upsilon
Andromedae d

MASS: 1,470 Earths
YEAR: 1,266.6 days
MILES FROM SUN: 230
million
TEMPERATURE: -100 [degrees] F.
A cold, water-cloud
planet with the most
eccentric orbit of the
three planets.

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