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Hot Topic
Deep Space
New Planets
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Hunting for Planets in the Dark
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| Topic: New Planets |
11/19/09 |
| A proposed space mission that aims to measure dark energy could also detect planets that current surveys are unable to find. |
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32 New Exoplanets Found
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| Topic: New Planets |
10/20/09 |
| Astronomers have reported 32 new exoplanets discovered using the HARPS spectrograph for ESO's 3.6-meter telescope. HARPS has provided a boost in the number of planets that are only a few times more massive than Earth. Some of these low-mass planets rest close to the habitable zone of their host stars. |
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Cloudy, with Pebble Showers
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| Topic: New Planets |
10/03/09 |
| A newly-discovered exoplanet has an atmosphere that contains the same ingredients as rocks. In fact, a storm on COROT-7b may include pebbles condensing out of the air to rain into lakes of lava. COROT-7b is less than twice the size of Earth and can help astronomers understand how small, rocky planets form and evolve. |
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Confirming a Hot Earth
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| Topic: New Planets |
09/18/09 |
| Scientists have confirmed the existence of a solid, rocky planet orbiting a distant star. The research also revealed a second Super Earth in the same solar system. Studies like these bring us closer to the discovery of habitable exoplanets similar to Earth. |
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New Planet Orbits Backwards
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| Topic: New Planets |
08/16/09 |
| Scientists have discovered a new planet that orbits its host star backwards. The finding casts new light on how planetary systems form and evolve. |
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The Rise and Fall of Planetary Light
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| Topic: New Planets |
08/09/09 |
| NASA's Kepler telescope has detected the atmosphere of a known gas giant planet orbiting a distant star. The finding demonstrates the telescope's scientific capabilities, which will help astrobiologists search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system. |
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Astrometry Finally Finds a Planet
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| Topic: New Planets |
06/02/09 |
| Astrometry is a method of detecting planets by precisely measuring the motion of stars as planets tugs them back and forth ever so slightly. The technique was first attempted 50 years ago, but has failed to turn up any extrasolar planets until now. |
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The Velocity of Planets
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| Topic: New Planets |
05/12/09 |
| Researchers have developed a new technique to detect small, extrasolar planets that are more Earth-like than the majority of planets discovered thus far. They call it the "astro-comb", and it could help astrobiologists in the search for distant, habitable worlds. |
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The Crowded Universe
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| Topic: New Planets |
05/11/09 |
| After two decades of planet searching, Alan Boss has written a book about how far we have come and how close we are to answering the question of whether we are alone in the universe. |
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Exoplanets Exposed to the Core
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| Topic: New Planets |
04/25/09 |
| Astronomers have determined that giant exoplanets orbiting close to their stars could lose so much of their mass that only their cores remain. The smallest exoplanet discovered so far, which is less than twice the size of Earth, may be an example of this phenomenon. The study could have implications in the search for habitable worlds around distant stars. |
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