XO-2 (star)
Encyclopedia
XO-2 is a cooler sun
-like star
located approximately 486 light-years away from Earth
in the Lynx constellation. It has a magnitude
of 11 and cannot be seen with the naked eye but is visible through a small telescope
. This star is also notable for its large proper motion
.
This star shares magnitude and direction of its proper motion with another similar star separated by only 31S. There is no indication that the two stars are gravitationally bound into a single a system, however.
, which is classified as a hot Jupiter
, was discovered by the XO Telescope
using the transit method orbiting XO-2 in 2007.
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
-like star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
located approximately 486 light-years away from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
in the Lynx constellation. It has a magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
of 11 and cannot be seen with the naked eye but is visible through a small telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
. This star is also notable for its large proper motion
Proper motion
The proper motion of a star is its angular change in position over time as seen from the center of mass of the solar system. It is measured in seconds of arc per year, arcsec/yr, where 3600 arcseconds equal one degree. This contrasts with radial velocity, which is the time rate of change in...
.
This star shares magnitude and direction of its proper motion with another similar star separated by only 31S. There is no indication that the two stars are gravitationally bound into a single a system, however.
Planetary system
One known exoplanet, XO-2bXO-2b
XO-2b is an extrasolar planet orbiting the star XO-2 in the constellation Lynx. This planet was found by transit method in 2007 by Burke et al...
, which is classified as a hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiter
Hot Jupiters are a class of extrasolar planet whose mass is close to or exceeds that of Jupiter...
, was discovered by the XO Telescope
XO Telescope
The XO Telescope is a telescope located on the 3,054 m summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii, formed by a pair of 200 mm telephoto lenses. It is used to detect extrasolar planets using the transit method. It is similar to the TrES survey telescope...
using the transit method orbiting XO-2 in 2007.
External links
- NASA PlanetQuest: Planet race heats up: 1 month, 32 discoveries