Knutson, who worked on mapping HD 189733 b in 2007, notes that the two maps pinpoint a similar location for the hot spot. "The really reassuring thing is that by using this different approach they come to a very similar conclusion," she says. Agol's group also revealed that the hot spot is located near the equator, as had been assumed in the one-dimensional longitudinal map. "The nice thing about their approach is that you can start to get some of that north-south information," Knutson says. "It's a really great shortcut to get around the fact that most of these planets are so far away that you can't really see them."

Unfortunately, few other known planets are as favorably positioned for such detailed study. For starters, HD 189733 b is closer to our solar system than all but a few known exoplanets. And it is a giant, about 14 percent larger in diameter than Jupiter, orbiting next to a host star that is about 20 percent smaller than the sun. Those dimensions, coupled with the planet's extreme heat, make for a relatively strong thermal signature that can be isolated from the radiation given off by the star alone. But future infrared observatories, such as NASA's massive James Webb Space Telescope, may be able to map additional exoplanets.

For now, the map that Agol calls a "first stab" at the secondary-eclipse technique is also an impressive résumé booster for Carl Majeau, an undergraduate student and the lead author of the new study. Majeau, who hails from Seattle, approached Agol for a project between school years at Columbia. "This was an idea that I thought would be cool to do with the data, but I just didn't have time to do it," Agol says. "At that point I think he had just finished his freshman year at Columbia, and he wanted a summer job."

5 Comments

1. 1. Retpro1 02:24 PM 2/27/12

   I don't think I'll make any travel reservations!

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2. 2. David Russell 07:13 PM 2/27/12

   I don't think people realize that we are very lucky to be in the sweet spot, and have a large moon. I really think that the collision that caused the moon was responsible for a blow off of CO2 which would have left us like Venus and the resulting rain of heavier metals back to earth created the magnetic field by enhancing the core and angular momentum. This means that if we are looking for places intelligent life like us can exist the odds are much higher against it. On another note though the discovery of extremeophiles means that cellular life could be quite prevalent and perhaps even more complex life approaching Squids and Octopi. Whether a back bone/spinal chord type creature could exist is where I think the moon is what gave us a better chance of evolving in that direction.
   
   It is interesting because only now is science starting to relate the benefit the moon provides to our evolution and I still see a lot of missing pieces especially the part of the loss of CO2 and the additional iron and nickle that makes up our core.
   
   It is nice to know that there are other planets but if you think about it the way stars (especially newer stars) are made it stands to reason that there would be material left over to ac-create into planets and planetoids. With the discovery of the Oort Cloud we are just starting to realize that the suns reach is roughly 1 light year which is also interesting. I wonder if the 2 million light year distance between Andromeda and the Milkyway means much. It is a shame we will miss the collision in 2 billion years. The sky filling more and more with another galaxy would be a sight to see.

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3. 3. Quinn the Eskimo 02:07 AM 3/2/12

   A mere 60 light years away. So, how far is that at our go-to-the-moon speed of 35,000?
   
   Nice discussion. Impracticable destination. Wonderful hypothesis. What if these guys are *wrong*?

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4. 4. frankboase 08:44 AM 3/2/12

   Hi Quinn, well would it be catastrophic if they were?

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5. 5. David Russell in reply to Quinn the Eskimo 04:07 PM 3/2/12

   If we would have gone with Project Orion still 600 years. I wonder who will be in charge of the earth by then? It is good that the closest stars are far away from us for them and for us. Even getting a message back and forth is problematic at this point but with entanglement possibilities and non interfering observation we may some day overcome that. The diamond entanglement experiment a few months ago leaves some interesting doors to open.

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