Contact: Joshua A. Chamot
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National Science Foundation

Artist's Conception of the Newly Discovered Planet MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb Orbiting its Star

Caption: Artist's conception of the newly discovered planet MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb orbiting a brown dwarf "star" with a mass of only 6 percent of that of the Sun. Theory suggests that the 3-Earth-mass planet is made primarily of rock and ice. Observational and theoretical studies of brown dwarfs reveal that they have a magenta color due to absorption by elements such as sodium and potassium in their atmospheres. If the host star has a mass of 9 percent of that of the Sun, at the other end of the margin of error for the new microlensing data, the star would be a red dwarf about 100 times brighter than the brown dwarf, but 1000 times fainter than the Sun.

Credit: NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program

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Related news release: Small planet, small star