ASTRONOMERS FIND SMALLEST EXTRASOLAR PLANET YET AROUND NORMAL STAR (STScI-PR06-06)

EMBARGOED UNTIL: 1:00pm (EST) January 25, 2006

Donna Weaver		
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
(Phone: 410/338-4493; E-mail: dweaver@xxxxxxxxx)

Kailash Sahu
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
(Phone: 410/338-4930; E-mail: sahu@xxxxxxxxx)

Josh Chamot
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Va,
(Phone: 703/292-7730; E-mail: jchamot@xxxxxxx)

PRESS RELEASE NO.: STScI-PR06-06

ASTRONOMERS FIND SMALLEST EXTRASOLAR PLANET YET AROUND NORMAL STAR

Using an armada of telescopes, an international team of astronomers has
found the smallest planet ever detected around a normal star outside our
solar system. The extrasolar planet is five times as massive as Earth
and orbits a red dwarf, a relatively cool star, every 10 years. This
artist's illustration shows an icy/rocky planet orbiting a dim star. The
distance between the planet, designated OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, and its
host is about three times greater than that between the Earth and the
Sun. The planet's large orbit and its dim parent star make its likely
surface temperature a frigid minus 364 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 220
degrees Celsius).

For the full story, visit:
http://hubblesite.org/news/2006/06
http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsmedia/planet06/index.jsp

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation
between NASA and the European Space Agency. The Space Telescope Science
Institute in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. The Institute
is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in
Astronomy, Inc., Washington.

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