For the first fourth dimension , scientist have determined the absolute mass of an exoplanet . And the new technique they used revealed gamy winds in the standard atmosphere ofOsiris , a Jupiter - alike planet orbit a champion 150 light years from Earth .
What ’s exciting about this find , reported today in Nature , is the direction the scientists were able-bodied to determine the planet ’s mass . According to a release about their theme :
Most of the known exoplanets have been discovered by observing the wobble induce in the host stars by their orbiting companion . For a wandering celestial orbit viewed boundary - on , the amplitude and period of the star ’s wobble can be used to calculate the satellite ’s mass , as a symmetry of the leading mass – which itself must be judge from the star ’s apparitional feature and distance .

Now Ignas Snellen and fellow worker account a new method acting of obtain an exoplanet ’s mass , by measuring its orbital velocity . As the planet HD 209458b [ Osiris ] overhaul between its host star and the Earth , the authors measured the preoccupation of the star ’s light by the satellite ’s atmosphere . Using a high - closure spectrogram , the author measure the modify Doppler shift of molecular absorption lines of atomic number 6 monoxide , triggered by the planet ’s orbital motility . From the orbital velocities of both star and major planet , the authors derived their raft directly , by lend oneself Newton ’s law of gravity .
An examination of the particles streaming through Osiris ’ atmosphere also revealed that strong confidential information are course through its upper atmospheric state . One side of Osiris always faces its sun , and one side always faces aside . This make a steady stream of lead from the cheery side to the shadowed side .
So what on the button is Osiris ’ rank muckle ? According to Snellen and his coauthor , the mass of its Lord’s Day and the planet are , respectively , “ 1.00 + 0.22MSun and 0.64 + 0.09MJup . ” OK then .

Full scientific papervia Nature
PhysicsScienceSpace
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