Corot-9B – The next exoplanet

A new exoplanet called Corot-9B was recently discussed in nature. It was found with the help of the COROT (COnvection ROtation and planetary Transits) satellite, being one of already 400 discovered extrasolar planets.

Why is Corot-9b so special?

‘Corot-9b stands alone because it is considered to be able to provide valuable scientific discoveries in the study of planets outside of our Solar System.’
Source: itwire.com

What is an exoplanet?

‘An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is a planet outside the Solar System. There are billions of stars in our galaxy and a significant percentage of these stars are likely to have planets orbiting them. There are also planets orbiting brown dwarfs and free floating planets orbiting the galaxy directly. As of 19 March 2010, 443 extrasolar planets have been confirmed.[1] The vast majority have been detected through radial velocity observations and other indirect methods rather than actual imaging. [1] Most are giant planets thought to resemble Jupiter; however, substantial sampling bias exists since more massive planets are much easier to detect with current technology. A few relatively lightweight exoplanets, only a few times more massive than Earth, have now been detected and projections suggest that planets of roughly Earth-like mass will eventually be found to outnumber extrasolar gas giants.[2]‘
Source: Wikipedia: Extrasolar planets, also available in German: Wikipedia: Extrasolare Planeten

Further Readings
Zeit.de: Erdähnlicher Exoplanet (17.03.10, DE)
nature: A transiting giant planet with a temperature between 250 K and 430 K (18.03.10, EN)
Mediaquell.com: Corot-9b: Ein Exoplanet wie (noch) kein anderer (19.03.10, DE)
itwire.com: Gold mine of an exoplanet: Corot-9b (23.03.10, EN)