TWO Jupiter-sized worlds have been discovered by British-led astronomers using a new technique that spots planets moving in front of their parent stars. The planets, orbiting stars in the constellations of Andromeda and Delphinus, were the first to be found by the UK-led SuperWasp (Wide Angle Search for Planets) programme. SuperWasp astronomers have been using high-quality, wide-angle cameras to survey several million stars looking for the tiny dip in starlight caused by a planet passing in front of its star.
The new planets are among the hottest yet discovered, and have atmospheres that are slowly being whipped away by the searing radiation from their parent stars. Around 200 planets circling stars other than the Sun are known. Most have been detected by measuring the way their stars "wobble" due to the gravitational "tug" caused by their orbits rather than the "transits" they make in front of their stars.
