Currently, sci.esa.int is under review and not being updated. For the latest information and news from ESA science missions and scientific results, please visit esa.int. For a comprehensive overview of ESA’s Science Programme and its missions, please refer to science.esa.int. For in-depth technical information aimed at ESA's scientific communities, you may also wish to consult cosmos.esa.int.

Asset Publisher

Back Hubble Makes Precise Measure of Extrasolar World's True Mass

Hubble Makes Precise Measure of Extrasolar World's True Mass


Depicts: Gliese 876b
Copyright: NASA and G. Bacon (STScI)

An international team of astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to help make a precise measurement of the mass of a planet outside our solar system. The Hubble results show that the planet is 1.89 to 2.4 times as massive as Jupiter, our solar system's largest orbiting body. Previous estimates, about which there are some uncertainties, place the planet's mass at a much wider range: between 1.9 and 100 times that of Jupiter's. The planet, called Gliese 876b, orbits the star Gliese 876. It is only the second planet outside our solar system for which astronomers have determined a precise mass.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
23-Jan-2026 23:44 UT

ShortUrl Portlet

Shortcut URL

https://sci.esa.int/s/Al4vydA

Latest Selection

Also Available As

Related Images

Related Videos

Caption & Press Release

Related Publications

Related Links

See Also

Documentation