Jupiter-like exoplanet discovered by amateur astronomer

An amateur astronomer have discovered a new 'hot Jupiter' - an exoplanet that orbits a star similar to our Sun with a period of 40 hours.

The planet was first spotted by the Kourovka Planet Search (KPS) project in Russia. The mass and size of the exoplanet known as KPS-1b are close to the characteristics of Jupiter, but it is located very close to its parent star.

Due to such proximity to the star, the temperature of the atmosphere KPS-1b is much higher than that of Jupiter.

Software for analysing data and searching exoplanet candidates was developed at Ural Federal University in Russia.

Subsequent observations of exoplanets candidates were conducted in a number of observatories around the world including the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Spectral observations, which allowed calculating the mass of the exoplanet, were conducted at Haute-Provence Observatory (France).

According to the researchers, the current discovery is unique due to the fact that signs of exoplanet existence were found in the data gathered by an amateur astronomer using readily available and relatively affordable equipment.

The discovery was made in collaboration with astronomers from Belgium, the US, England, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, Portugal, Lithuania, Italy and Canada.

The search for new exoplanets, as well as detailed studies of already known extrasolar planets, allow scientists to come closer to understanding how our solar system was formed and evolved.