As I've mentioned in my blog previously, exoplanets are planets which are located outside of our own solar system. Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets inside of our own Milky Way Galaxy. But until recently, no exoplanets had been found outside of our own galaxy. This is not too surprising since closer exoplanets would be easier to detect than ones that are farther away.
Recently, however, Xinyu Dai of the University of Oklahoma (OU) along with researcher Eduardo Guerras discovered the first possible exoplanets in another galaxy that is 3.8 billion light years away. The discovery, which was published in the peer-reviewed Astrophysical Journal Letters, indicates as many as 2,000 exoplanets which range in mass from similar to our moon to about the mass of Jupiter. (See the image below which compares the size of the Earth, the moon, and Jupiter - Mars is the red dot in the bottom right of the image.).
How were they able to discover exoplanets in another galaxy located 3.8 billion light-years away? The astronomers used the quasar microlensing technique with data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Notably also, these newly discovered exoplanets are "unbound", which means they are not gravitationally bound to any stars as are the planets in our solar system. Other unbound exoplanets have been discovered within the Milky Way galaxy also.
Why are some planets "unbound" and dissociated from stars? This is just one of many questions that I one day look forward to asking our Almighty Creator! Clearly there is so much to learn and discover out there in the vastness of God's wonderful Creation!
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For more information about the Mazzaroth (God's constellation tapestry) and His Messages in the 48 original constellations, request your own copy of Shauna Manfredine's book, God's Amazing Star Secret (book trailer).
TTurn your Church or Venue into a Planetarium for a Night (or Weekend)! Now you can share God's Amazing Star Secrets with your whole family, church, or gathering! Request Shauna Manfredine to give her inspiring and well-researched, planetarium-style God's Amazing Star Secrets presentation.
In her presentation(s), Shauna shows the meaning of Psalm 19:1-4 and the original names of the stars based upon earth's first recorded language(s). She shows archaeological evidence of the original constellations and the amazing connection between the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 primary constellations. And she explains the Plan of Redemption in the original star and constellation names. More information...
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