Mick Ohrberg's Journal: Detecting Extrasolar Planets Directly

Per PhysNews update 724, scientists have for the first time been able to detect extrasolar planets directly. That is, previously the only way to detect these orbiting bodies was to either detect the minute redshift in the companion star due to orbit wobble in the gravitational tug-of-war, or to detect the drop in light intensity when the planet passes between us and the star. The Spitzer Space Telescope has detected infrared radiation directly from two planets, HD 209458b (135 ly away) and TrES-1 (489 ly away). Unfortunately, this will not yet aid our search for M-class planets - the two found are Jupiter sized, but orbits their respective stars closer than Mercury, which renders them hot enough to be seen by the telescope.

Future missions

[nizo]

This [nasa.gov] mission is the one I am excited about. I keep hoping we will find an earth-like planet around a "nearby" star. I wonder if that would give us the needed kick in the butt to get us out into space? Going somewhere lightyears away is much more interesting if there is a habitable planet at the end, especially if there is a good chance of finding life there.