
“超级地球”的效果图
“超级地球”也称超级类地行星,是指那些环境可能和地球类似、但质量要大好几倍的行星。科学家们普遍怀疑这类行星上可能存在水和生命,因此具有重大研究价值。
瑞士日内瓦天文台的科学家们6月16日在法国举行的一次学术会议上宣布,他们发现了5颗新“超级地球”。
在这次发现的5颗“超级地球”中,有3颗位于距离地球42光年外的绘架座及南剑鱼座方向,质量分别为地球的4.2倍、6.7倍及9.4倍。这3颗“超级地球”环绕一颗体积比太阳略小的恒星公转,公转周期分别为4天,10天和20天。第4颗“超级地球”围绕恒星HD 181433公转,周期为9.5天。恒星HD181433还吸引了一颗类似木星、公转周期为3年的行星。第5颗“超级地球”的质量是地球的22倍,每4天公转一周。
Since the 1995 discovery of a "super-Earth", astronomers have detected more than 270 stars, mostly as huge as Jupiter and Saturn, similar to the size of Earth and Planetary less. As the majority of "super Earth" too far away from us, astronomers can not directly by ordinary telescopes observed with the naked eye, but can only rely on radio waves or spectrometry detection methods, such as "indirectly measured" to "super-Earth" there. Paris Astronomical Society scientists Francois said: "The smallest planet is the star of the quality of one in 10, only the HARPS high-precision observation equipment can detect." vG6 Trolltech network and the astronomers found that the five "super-Earth" It is precisely this use of the HARPS for short, "high-precision radial velocity planet search." This equipment is also often referred to as the "planet hunters", the optical-caliber reached 3.6 meters, set up in the southern tip of Chile's Atacama desert Lexi La mountain top, in use since 2004 has been detected 45 "super-Earth" .

自1995年发现第一颗“超级地球”后,天文学家又陆续探测到270多颗,大多如木星及土星般巨大,与地球大小类似的行星较少。由于多数“超级地球”距离我们太远,天文学家无法直接通过普通天文望远镜用肉眼观察,而只能依靠无线电波或者光谱分析等探测方式“间接测算”出“超级地球”的存在。巴黎天文协会的科学家弗朗索瓦说:“最小的行星的质量是恒星的10万分之一,只有高精度的HARPS观测设备才能探测到。”
vG6奇趣网而这次天文学家能一下发现5颗“超级地球”也正是使用了这种简称为HARPS的 “高精度径向速度行星搜索器”。这一设备也常被称作“行星猎手”,其光学口径达到3.6米,架设在智利阿塔卡马沙漠南端的勒希拉山顶端,自2004年投入使用以来已经探测到45颗“超级地球”。
Since the 1995 discovery of a "super-Earth", astronomers have detected more than 270 stars, mostly as huge as Jupiter and Saturn, similar to the size of Earth and Planetary less. As the majority of "super Earth" too far away from us, astronomers can not directly by ordinary telescopes observed with the naked eye, but can only rely on radio waves or spectrometry detection methods, such as "indirectly measured" to "super-Earth" there. Paris Astronomical Society scientists Francois said: "The smallest planet is the star of the quality of one in 10, only the HARPS high-precision observation equipment can detect." vG6 Trolltech network and the astronomers found that the five "super-Earth" It is precisely this use of the HARPS for short, "high-precision radial velocity planet search." This equipment is also often referred to as the "planet hunters", the optical-caliber reached 3.6 meters, set up in the southern tip of Chile's Atacama desert Lexi La mountain top, in use since 2004 has been detected 45 "super-Earth" .

