Exoplanet KOI-961 System
Artist's concept depicts an itsy bitsy planetary system which is so compact that it's more like Jupiter and its moons than a star and its planets. Astronomers using data from NASA's Kepler mission and ground-based telescopes recently confirmed that the system, called KOI-961, hosts the three smallest exoplanets known so far to orbit a star other than our sun. An exoplanet is a planet that resides outside of our solar system. The star, which is located about 130 light-years away in the Cygnus constellation, is what's called a red dwarf. It's one-sixth the size of the sun, or just 70 percent bigger than Jupiter. The star is also cooler than our sun, and gives off more red light than yellow. The smallest of the three planets, called , is actually located the farthest from the star, and is pictured in the foreground. This planet is about the same size as Mars, with a radius only times that of Earth. The next planet to the upper right is , which is times the radius of Earth. The planet closest to the star is , with a radius times the Earth's. All three planets whip around the star in less than two days, with the closest planet taking less than half a day. Their close proximity to the star also means they are scorching hot, with temperatures ranging from 350 to 836 degrees Fahrenheit (176 to 447 degrees Celsius). The star's habitable zone, or the region where liquid water could exist, is located far beyond the planets. Release date January 11, 2012.
Size: 5100px × 2868px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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