A team of scientists, including two Penn State astronomers, recently discovered a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a nearby star.

HD 102195 b was discovered using the Exoplanet Tracker, an instrument that detects planets less expensively and more efficiently than before.

The Exoplanet Tracker measures wobble in the movement of stars; based on the wobble, astronomers can determine if a star has a planet. HD 102195 b's gravitational influence on its nearby star causes a certain wobble in the movement of the star, said Jian Ge, a University of Florida professor of astronomy, who worked at Penn State.

HD 102195 b causes its parent star's velocity to change by around 300 mph about every four days, which is the orbital period -- or year -- of HD 102195 b.

Science-fiction buffs might be disappointed to learn that no one will make the voyage to HD 102195 b anytime soon.

Currently, it would take the fastest spacecraft thousands of years to get there, said Donald Schneider, Penn State professor of astronomy and astrophysics.

Also, the surface temperature of HD 102195 b is about 1,340 degrees F, and HD 102195 b is a gas giant, not a solid surface for landing on, Ge said.

Despite its faraway location and hostile conditions, Ge said he believes the discovery of HD 102195 b is important.

"Discovery of new planets will help to understand how the solar system formed and evolved to current status and also how life forms in the solar system and universe," Ge said.

Over the past 20 years, astronomers have monitored about 3,000 stars in hope of discovering planets and have discovered about 200. Evolving Exoplanet Tracker technology could allow astronomers to monitor stars and discover planets much more quickly in the future, Schneider said.

HD 102195 b was discovered using a version of the Exoplanet Tracker that could only monitor one star at a time. However, an updated version of the Exoplanet Tracker that could monitor 50 stars simultaneously should be up and running this spring, Schneider said.

"We should know whether it's working in a few months," Schneider said.

Even before the updated version has proven itself, there are already plans to further update the Exoplanet Tracker to monitor more than 50 stars simultaneously.