The Exploratorium will cover the action "live" in the McBean Theater from 2:30-5:30PM on Thursday December 7th. The events we hope to cover will be....

• 2:45 PM Pacific: Closest approach to Jupiter (perijove)
• 2:59 PM Pacific: Probe transmissions begin (60-75 minutes)
• 4:14 PM Pacific: Probe transmissions end
• 5:19 PM Pacific: Engine firing; Jupiter orbital insertion (49 minutes)

NASA Ames Research Center: Galileo Probe

The Tech Museum of Innovation

The location of "Pegasus 51" pinpointed with Voyager II software. Pegasus can be seen high in the south in the early evening hours. Image courtesy of Carina Software.

A stronomers from two independent teams announced they have confirmed for the first time the existence of a planet outside of our solar system. A team of Swiss astronomers announced that they found a planet orbiting a star named "Pegasus 51." This observation was confirmed by Geoffrey Marcy and Paul Butler astronomers from San Francisco State University.

Pegasus 51 is 44 light years from earth and is similar in size and temperature to the sun. The planet can't be seen because the light of its parent star but Marcy and Butler were able to detect a slight wobble in the star's movement. The team made their observations at Lick Observatory in the mountains above San Jose, California.

51 Peg

Other Solar Systems

Dr. Odenwald's ASK THE ASTRONOMER page

Philadelphia Inquirer/Franklin Institute: "Another planet is found that circles its own sun"

San Francisco Chronicle: "Discovery of Planet Confirmed UC team finds it circling distant star"