Upsilon Andromedae
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Upsilon Andromedae |
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Deep Sky Object Chart | Epsilon Pegasi (Enif) | Upsilon Andromedae | 32 Pegasi | 51 Pegasi | M15 | M31 | M33 | NGC 752 | NGC 891 | NGC 7331 | NGC 7662 | NGC 7814 | M74 Upsilon Andromedae is a naked eye star, but hardly the brightest in Andromeda. As a yellow-white type F8V sun just 25% brighter than ours, its no giant. It's signifigance comes from the recent discovery that a system of planets orbits the star. Three of them have been detected, unlike many other recent single-planet discoveries, so here we have a glimpse of not just one body, but an orderly system like our sun's. The diagram below gives an impression of Upsilon's family of worlds. |
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While at present we can only detect giant planets like Jupiter at these distances, the fact that a sun much like ours (and Upsilon Andromedae is indeed like our sun) has planets offers greater hope that planets are common in space - and accordingly, the hope for life-bearing worlds is greater. So many of these planets are being discovered these days that Pegasus also has one - 51 Pegasi, described later.
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