Friday, July 8, 2016

HD 131399Ab: a Directly Imaged 4 Jupiter Mass Gas Giant in a Trinary System



Direct imaging discovery of a Jovian exoplanet within a triple-star system

Authors:

Wagner et al

Abstract:

Direct imaging allows for the detection and characterization of exoplanets via their thermal emission. We report the discovery via imaging of a young Jovian planet in a triple star system and characterize its atmospheric properties through near-infrared spectroscopy. The semi-major axis of the planet is closer relative to that of its hierarchical triple star system than for any known exoplanet within a stellar binary or triple, making HD 131399 dynamically unlike any other known system. The location of HD 131399Ab on a wide orbit in a triple system demonstrates that massive planets may be found on long and possibly unstable orbits in multi-star systems. HD 131399Ab is one of the lowest mass (4 ± 1 MJup) and coldest (850 ± 50 K) exoplanets to have been directly imaged.

pop sci links 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

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