51 Pegasi B. Artist's impression of the planet 51 Pegasi B (foreground) near its sun. This planet was discovered in 1995 by Michel Mayor and Didier Qu
51 Pegasi B. Artist's impression of the planet 51 Pegasi B (foreground) near its sun. This planet was discovered in 1995 by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz of Geneva Observatory, Italy. The star 51 Pegasi, seen at centre, is a Sun-like star some 42 light years from Earth. Its planet 51 Pegasi B is about half as massive as Jupiter, and orbits only 7 million kilometres from the star, equivalent to 1/6th of Mercury's orbit around the Sun. The surface temperature is probably over 1000 Celsius, and the rocks of the planet at least partly molten. It is likely that the planet is pulled into an oval shape by gravitational tidal forces.
Size: 4524px × 3892px
Photo credit: © DR SETH SHOSTAK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 51, alien, artwork, astronomy, cosmology, pegasi, planet, planetary, science, system
