| Welcome
to the Universe in the Classroom! This electronic educational
newsletter is for teachers and other educators around
the world who want to help students of all ages learn more about
the wonders of the universe through astronomy.
On
this page, you can read the current issue,
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Current
issue: Spring 2009
Probing
Extrasolar Planets with the Spitzer Space Telescope
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Science
fiction has painted views of amazing worlds with multiple
moons, multiple stars, jungles, deserts and even moons
that have been completely developed. But that is the
stuff of fiction. What do we know about the hundreds
of planets that are being discovered around other stars?
Initially, it was not much. |
The
detection method gave us a top limit on its mass and
some information about how far it was orbiting from
its parent star, but it was still the realm of fiction
to describe much else. The Spitzer Space Telescope
has proven itself a workhorse in the area of extrasolar
planets. Its ability to measure the temperatures on
those distant worlds and even tell us something about
the composition of the planets has given the dreamers
something to base those descriptions on.
In this issue of the Universe at Your Fingertips,
find out about the Spitzer Space Telescope and how
it's giving us a way to begin to characterize those
distant worlds as real worlds, with sunsets and dramatic
weather.
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We
thank the following Universe in the Classroom sponsors
Donat
G. Wentzel
The
Thomason Foundation
Al
Whaley
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