NEW GIANT PLANET FOUND CALLED: IOTA HOR B
Filer's Files #31-1999 August 5, 1999 George A. Filer: MUFON Eastern Director

LA SILLA OBSERVATORY - The European Southern Observatory reports discovering a new extra-solar giant planet in Earth-like orbit. This 5.4-mag solar-type star is a companion to iota Horologii (iota Hor) and is located at a distance of 56 light-years. It is just visible to the unaided eye in the southern constellation Horologium (The Pendulum Clock). The discovery is the result of a survey of forty solar-type stars begun in 1992. It is based on highly accurate measurements of stellar radial velocities. The presence of a planet in orbit around a star is inferred from small regular changes of velocity, as the host star and its planet revolve around a common center of gravity. Further planets in this solar system are likely due to unusual variability of the star. Thanks to Mark A. LeCuyer randydan@wavetech.net