Are we alone [ http://seti1.setile…] in the universe? Do other stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] have planets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] too? Humanity took one step closer to answering these questions in October 1995 when it was announced that the star 51 Pegasi [ http://zebu.uoregon…] harbors at least one planet. In the above picture of 51 Peg the planet is not visible - it can only be detected by noticing small changes in the star's motion. Claims of planets [ http://www.seds.org…] orbiting other stars [ http://maxwell.sfsu…] are rare, with perhaps the most credible pertaining to a neutron star [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] - a star much different than the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. But new ground was broken when the planetary detection claimed around the normal Sun-like star 51 Peg was confirmed. The planet, discovered by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz, is thought to be like Jupiter [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] - except orbiting so close to the parent star that it's year lasts only about 4 days! In the above picture the lines centered on 51 Peg are caused by the telescope itself and are not related to the star or planet.
