Astrophoto: Triple Star System Gliese 667 - Home of 'Goldilocks' Exoplanets

By Nancy Atkinson - July 3, 2013 at 2:07 PM UTC | Exoplanets
Gliese667-062913-0324ut-L11mRGB7m-B-EMr.jpg

Here is a great new observation of the triple star system Gliese 667 from astrophotographer Efrain Morales of the

Jaicoa Observatory

in Puerto Rico. Recently, one of the stars, 667 C was

found to have perhaps seven planets orbiting it!

If all seven planets are confirmed, the system would consist of three habitable-zone super-Earths, two hot planets further in, and two cooler planets further out. Scientists say that the 'f' planet is "a prime candidate for habitability."

Efrain also created an animation of the star system, showing the stars' movements:

The animation was created using plates from the

DSS (Digitized Sky Survey)

with the final image in the animation from Efrain's observations.

[caption id="attachment_103273" align="aligncenter" width="580"]

Gif animation of The animation of the triple star system Gliese 667, created using plates from the DSS (Digitized Sky Survey) with the final image in the animation from Jaicoa Observatory. Credit and copyright: Efrain Morales. Click for animation.[/caption]

The system is in the constellation of Scorpius and is just barely visible to the unaided eye at magnitude 5.9 – appearing as a single point of light. The three stars orbit each other in a complicated dance. The two brightest components of this system, Gliese 667 A and Gliese 667 B, are orbiting each other at about 13 times the separation of the Earth from the Sun, while Gliese 667 C is the smallest stellar component of this system, and orbits the other two stars at about 230 AU.

Efrain used a LX200ACF 12 in. OTA, F6.3, CGE mount, ST402xm CCD, Astronomik LRGB filter set.

Thanks to Efrain Morales and the Jaicoa Observatory for providing this latest look at an extremely interesting star system!

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Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com