Patient Observations Reveal Second Planet
(From the November/December 2001 issue of StarDate magazine)
Continuing observations of a star system in Ursa Major have revealed a possible second planet in the system, according to astronomers who have watched the star for more than a decade. The new planet orbiting 47 Ursae Majoris is about three-fourths as massive as Jupiter, the largest planet in our own solar system, and follows a circular orbit around the star. The astronomers earlier found a heavier planet in a tighter orbit around 47 Ursae Majoris. Long-term observations revealed a tiny shift in the frequency of the star’s light produced as the star “wobbles” in response to the planet’s gravitational pull.
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