Saturn-Like Alien Planet, KELT-6b, Spotted By Telescopes In Arizona & South Africa

Tiny Telescopes Spot Huge Exoplanet
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By: Miriam Kramer
Published: 06/04/2013 02:22 PM EDT on SPACE.com

INDIANAPOLIS — Tiny telescopes in Arizona and South Africa have spotted a Saturn-like planet in orbit around a star about 700 light-years from Earth.

Scientists using the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) and other ground-based tools spied the alien planet as it passed in front of its star, a process called transiting.

The planet, called KELT-6b, can be seen from the surface of Earth for five hours as it transits — a relatively short window in which to catch the planet making its presence known. The research team required patience and luck to make their find, the scientists said.

The planet is also very close to its star; its year lasts only about 7.8 days. Although KELT-6b has no rings, its mass and size resemble the planet Saturn, scientists say.

Karen Collins, a graduate student in astrophysics at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, led the study that confirmed the discovery originally glimpsed by KELT. She used the University of Louisville's Moore Observatory to observe the transit and collect necessary data to follow-up the initial find.

"To participate in planet discovery here in Kentucky, it’s just incredible to me to be able to do that," Collins said in a statement.

Collins presented information about the newly discovered alien planet here at the 222nd meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

The newly discovered planet is also something of a cousin to another planet famed among exoplanet hunting scientists. HD 209458b, a heavily studied alien planet, is also a gas giant that orbits very close to its star.

"KELT-6b is a 'metal-poor' cousin of HD 209458b," said Keivan Stassun, professor of astronomy at Vanderbilt University and a member of the KELT team. "The role of metals in the stellar environments in which planets form is a major question in our understanding of these other worlds. This new planet is among the least endowed with such metals that we know of, and because it is so bright it should serve as a benchmark for comparative studies of how and under what conditions planets form."

Collins is now investigating a second body in the same system as KELT-6b.

Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Artists' Conceptions Of Extrasolar Planets
New Super-Earth Discovered 39 Light-Years From Earth(01 of12)
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In April 2017 researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics CfA announced the discovery of a new super-Earth designated LHS 1140b orbiting the habitable zone of a small red dwarf star LHS 1140 about 39 light-years away Its 42 light-years from our sun to the nearest star Proxima Centauri This is an artist impression of the star LHS 1140 and the possible super-Earth planet which shows early indications of habitability (credit:M Weiss / CfA)
Seven Earth-Sized Planets Around One Star(02 of12)
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On Feb. 22, 2017, NASA announced the discovery of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a single star -- TRAPPIST-1 an ultra-cool dwarf sun in the constellation Aquarius just 39 light-years away This artists concept appeared on the cover of the journal Nature on Feb. 23, 2017. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Closest Exoplanet To Earth -- August 2016(03 of12)
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On Aug. 24, 2016, the European Southern Observatory announced the confirmation of the closest exoplanet to Earth. This illustration shows Proxima b, which orbits its parent star Proxima Centauri, the closest sun to Earth's sun. Proxima b lies within its sun's habitable zone, strongly suggesting the planet has liquid water on its surface. (credit:PHL UPR Arecibo ESO)
Proxima b Exoplanet Orbits Red Dwarf Star(04 of12)
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Artist's impression of exoplanet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri. The double star Alpha Centauri AB also appears in the image between the planet and Proxima Centauri. (credit:ESOM Kornmesser)
Illustration of Proxima b Surface Features(05 of12)
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Artist impression shows a view of the surface of planet Proxima b, orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our solar system. The double star Alpha Centauri can also be seen to the upper right of Proxima Centauri. (credit:ESOM Kornmesser)
Super-Earth Exoplanet 55 Cancri e(06 of12)
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In March 2016, NASA announced the discovery of a lava-loaded super-Earth called 55 Cancri e -- twice the size of our own planet but eight times as dense. It's so close to its star that a year lasts only 18 hours. Just 40 light-years away, 55 Cancri e may also be tidally locked to its sun the way the moon is to Earth. This artist's impression shows 55 Cancri e orbiting its parent star. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)
NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Planet(07 of12)
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This Dec. 5, 2011, NASA illustration shows Kepler-22b, a planet known to comfortably circle in the habitable zone of a sun-like star. For the first time, NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed a planet to orbit in a star's habitable zone, the region around a star where liquid water, a requirement for life on Earth, could persist. The planet is 2.4 times the size of Earth, making it the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone. Clouds could exist in this Earth's atmosphere, as the artist's interpretive illustration depicts. (credit:Ames/JPL-Caltech/NASA via Getty Images)
NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Planet(08 of12)
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In this Dec. 5, 2011, NASA illustration, a diagram compares our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first 'habitable zone' planet discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The habitable zone is the sweet spot around a star where temperatures are right for water to exist in its liquid form. Liquid water is essential for life on Earth. The diagram displays an artist's rendering of the planet comfortably orbiting within the habitable zone, similar to where Earth circles the sun. Kepler-22b has a yearly orbit of 289 days. The planet is the smallest known to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a sun-like star and is about 2.4 times the size of Earth. (credit:Ames/JPL-Caltech/NASA via Getty Images)
Extrasolar Planet HD 209458 b, Osiris(09 of12)
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Artist's conception released by NASA of extrasolar planet HD 209458 b, also known as Osiris, orbiting its star in the constellation Pegasus, some 150 light-years from Earth's solar system. Scientists have used an infrared spectrum -- the first ever obtained for an extrasolar planet -- to analyze Osiris' atmosphere, which is said to contain dust but no water. The planet's surface temperature is more than 700 Celsius (1330 Fahrenheit). (credit:Getty)
Planet & Its Parent Star(10 of12)
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Picture released on Oct. 4, 2006, by the European Space Agency shows an artist's impression of a Jupiter-sized planet passing in front of its parent star. Such events are called transits. When the planet transits the star, the star's apparent brightness drops by a few percent for a short period. Through this technique, astronomers can use the Hubble Space Telescope to search for planets across the galaxy by measuring periodic changes in a star's luminosity. (credit:AFP PHOTO NASA/ESA/K. SAHU (STScI) / Getty)
Hot Jupiter(11 of12)
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Picture released on Oct. 4, 2006, by the European Space Agency shows an artist's impression of a unique type of exoplanet discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope. This image presents a purely speculative view of what a 'hot Jupiter' (word dedicated to planets so close to their stars with such short orbital periods) might look like. A seam of stars at the center of the Milky Way has shown astronomers that an entirely new class of planets closely orbiting distant suns is waiting to be explored. An international team of astronomers, using a camera aboard NASA's Hubble telescope, delved into a zone of the Milky Way known as the 'galactic bulge,' thus called because it is rich in stars and in the gas and dust which go to make up stars and planets. The finding opens up a new area of investigation for space scientists probing extrasolar planets - planets that orbit stars other than our own. (credit:AFP PHOTO NASA/ESA/K. SAHU (STScI) / Getty)
Iceball Exoplanet(12 of12)
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This artist's concept depicts an iceball exoplanet designated OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb, discovered with a technique called microlensing. (credit:NASA/JPL-Caltech)