CoRoT-1b
(previously named CoRoT-Exo-1b)
is a
transiting extrasolar planet approximately 2,630
light-year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
s away in the
constellation
A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object.
The origins of the e ...
of
Monoceros. The planet was discovered orbiting the
yellow dwarf star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
CoRoT-1 in May 2007. The planet was the first discovery by the French-led
CoRoT Mission.
Discovery
CoRoT-1b was identified as the best planetary candidate from the CoRoT spacecraft initial run from February 6 to April 2, 2007. Follow-up photometry with the
Wise Observatorys 1.0 m telescope and at the
Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope eliminated many of the possible false positives for the transit signal. 9
radial velocity
The radial velocity or line-of-sight velocity, also known as radial speed or range rate, of a target with respect to an observer is the temporal rate of change, rate of change of the distance or Slant range, range between the two points. It is e ...
measurements of CoRoT-1 were made at
Haute-Provence Observatory
The Haute-Provence Observatory (OHP, french: Observatoire de Haute-Provence) is an astronomical observatory in the southeast of France, about 90 km east of Avignon and 100 km north of Marseille. It was established in 1937 as a national ...
in March–April and October 2007 with the
SOPHIE échelle spectrograph. The radial velocity data matched the CoRoT
light curve and supported the planetary nature of CoRoT-1b and eliminated other possibilities such as background stars, grazing
eclipsing binaries, or a triple system.
The discovery was publicly announced on May 3, 2007
and submitted for publication on January 4, 2008.
Characteristics
The planet is a large
hot Jupiter, about 1.49 times the radius of
Jupiter and approximately 1.03 times as massive, based on ground observations of the star. Its large size is due to its low density combined with the intense heating of its parent star causing the outer layers of the atmosphere to bloat.
Observation of phases
In May 2009 CoRoT-1b became the first extrasolar planet for which optical (as opposed to
infrared) observations of phases were reported. These observations suggest that there is not significant heat transfer between the (
tidally locked) night and day sides of the planet.
See also
*
51 Pegasi b
51 Pegasi b, officially named Dimidium , and formerly unofficially dubbed Bellerophon , is an extrasolar planet approximately away in the constellation of Pegasus. It was the first exoplanet to be discovered orbiting a main-sequence star, the S ...
*
CoRoT-2b
CoRoT-2b (formerly known as CoRoT-Exo-2b) is the second extrasolar planet to be detected by the French-led CoRoT mission, and orbits the star CoRoT-2 at a distance of 700 light years from Earth towards the constellation Aquila. Its discovery w ...
*
TrES-1
References
External links
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{{Sky, 06, 48, 19.17, -, 03, 06, 07.78, 1560
Hot Jupiters
Monoceros (constellation)
Transiting exoplanets
Giant planets
Exoplanets discovered in 2007
1b