XO-1
Encyclopedia
XO-1 is a magnitude
11 yellow dwarf
star
located approximately 600 light-year
s away in the constellation
Corona Borealis. XO-1 has a mass
and radius
similar to the Sun
The SuperWASP
project has observed and classified this star as a variable star
, perhaps due to the eclipsing
planet. This star is not listed in the General Catalog of Variable Stars.
XO-1b
was discovered orbiting XO-1 by the transit method using the XO Telescope
. This international team of professional and amateur astronomer
s discovered a Jupiter
-sized planet orbiting around XO-1. The team, led by Peter McCullough
of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, includes four amateur astronomers from North America and Europe.
The planet was confirmed using the Harlan J. Smith Telescope
and Hobby-Eberly Telescope
at McDonald Observatory
of the University of Texas.
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
11 yellow dwarf
Yellow dwarf
A G-type main-sequence star , often called a yellow dwarf, is a main-sequence star of spectral type G and luminosity class V. Such a star has about 0.8 to 1.2 solar masses and surface temperature of between 5,300 and 6,000 K., Tables VII, VIII...
star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
located approximately 600 light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Corona Borealis. XO-1 has a mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
and radius
Radius
In classical geometry, a radius of a circle or sphere is any line segment from its center to its perimeter. By extension, the radius of a circle or sphere is the length of any such segment, which is half the diameter. If the object does not have an obvious center, the term may refer to its...
similar to the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
The SuperWASP
SuperWASP
SuperWASP is an international academic organisation performing an ultra-wide angle search for transiting extrasolar planets with the aim of covering the entire sky down to ~15th magnitude.-Equipment:...
project has observed and classified this star as a variable star
Variable star
A star is classified as variable if its apparent magnitude as seen from Earth changes over time, whether the changes are due to variations in the star's actual luminosity, or to variations in the amount of the star's light that is blocked from reaching Earth...
, perhaps due to the eclipsing
Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer...
planet. This star is not listed in the General Catalog of Variable Stars.
Planetary system
In 2006 the extrasolar planetExtrasolar planet
An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. A total of such planets have been identified as of . It is now known that a substantial fraction of stars have planets, including perhaps half of all Sun-like stars...
XO-1b
XO-1b
XO-1b is an extrasolar planet approximately 600 light-years away in the constellation of Corona Borealis. The planet was discovered orbiting the yellow dwarf star now designated XO-1 in 2006.- Discovery :...
was discovered orbiting XO-1 by the transit method using the XO Telescope
XO Telescope
The XO Telescope is a telescope located on the 3,054 m summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii, formed by a pair of 200 mm telephoto lenses. It is used to detect extrasolar planets using the transit method. It is similar to the TrES survey telescope...
. This international team of professional and amateur astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
s discovered a Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
-sized planet orbiting around XO-1. The team, led by Peter McCullough
Peter McCullough
Peter R. McCullough is an American astronomer, founder of the XO Project and discoverer of extrasolar transiting planets, such as XO-1b. Soon after the U.S. declassification of the laser beacon adaptive optics technique in 1991, he identified dusty disks around new born stars, later referred to as...
of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, includes four amateur astronomers from North America and Europe.
The planet was confirmed using the Harlan J. Smith Telescope
Harlan J. Smith Telescope
The Harlan J. Smith Telescope is a 2.7m telescope located at the McDonald Observatory, in Texas, in the United States. This telescope is one of several research telescopes that are part of the University of Texas at Austin observatory perched atop Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of west Texas...
and Hobby-Eberly Telescope
Hobby-Eberly Telescope
The Hobby-Eberly Telescope is a 9.2-meter aperture telescope located at the McDonald Observatory. It combines a number of features that differentiate it from most telescope designs, resulting in greatly lowered construction costs...
at McDonald Observatory
McDonald Observatory
The McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near the unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Fowlkes and Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas...
of the University of Texas.
Telescopes that have observed XO-1
- 2004 XO cameras, Hawaii, USA, McCullough, transits
- 2004 SuperWASPSuperWASPSuperWASP is an international academic organisation performing an ultra-wide angle search for transiting extrasolar planets with the aim of covering the entire sky down to ~15th magnitude.-Equipment:...
-North, La Palma, Spain, Pollacco, transits - 2005.06.23 0.34m telescope, Maine, USA, Howell, photometric transit data
- 2005.07.12 0.35m telescope, Landen, Belgium, Vanmunster, photometric transit data
- 2006.03.18 0.34m telescope, Maine, USA, Howell, photometric transit data
- 2006.02 Harlan J Smith telescope, Texas, USA, Johns-Krull, spectra
- 2006.02 Hobby Eberly Telescope, Texas, USA, McCullough, spectra
- 2006.04.06 0.35m telescope, Landen, Belgium, Vanmunster, photometric transit data
- 2006.06.01 Keck telescope, Hawaii, USA, Liu, adaptive optics
See also
- XO TelescopeXO TelescopeThe XO Telescope is a telescope located on the 3,054 m summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawaii, formed by a pair of 200 mm telephoto lenses. It is used to detect extrasolar planets using the transit method. It is similar to the TrES survey telescope...
or XO - SuperWASPSuperWASPSuperWASP is an international academic organisation performing an ultra-wide angle search for transiting extrasolar planets with the aim of covering the entire sky down to ~15th magnitude.-Equipment:...
or WASP - List of extrasolar planets