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NEWS ABOUT: exoplanet

exoplanet stories: 10 news summaries

 32 New Exoplanets Discovered 

New finds signal that cosmos harbors wealth of planets

Oct 20, 09 3:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - European astronomers have discovered 32 new planets in other solar systems, bringing the total of known exoplanets to over 400. The planets—which range in size from five times the size of Earth to five times the size of Jupiter—were found circling a variety of stars. The new discoveries... More »

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planet • Milky Way • exoplanet • galaxy • extrasolar planets • observatory

(Newser) - Scientists have at long last discovered a rocky world outside of our solar system, Wired reports. Dubbed COROT-7b (it circles the star COROT-7), the planet has a density similar to Earth’s, said researchers, who believe our greatest chance of finding extraterrestrial life is on a rocky planet with such... More »

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astronomy • exoplanet • mass • outer space


 New Planet 
 Expected to 
 Crash and Burn 

It defies laws of physics

Aug 27, 09 10:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists in the UK have discovered a planet that defies the laws of physics, the Independent reports. WASP-18b, which is orbiting a star 1,000 light years from Earth, is so big and close to the sun that it should be pulled toward it. "The spin of the star... More »

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planet • star • sun • physics • exoplanet • Jupiter • orbit • University of St. Andrews • WASP-18b

(Newser) - An Australian science magazine is soliciting text messages to send to a mysterious planet more than 20 light-years away, Space.com reports. Called "Hello from Earth," the project aims to transmit 160-character missives to Gliese 581d, a so-called "Super Earth" discovered 2 years ago. "Will... More »

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planet • extraterrestrial life • exoplanet • outer space

(Newser) - Astronomers in Chile looking for an Earth-like planet have discovered the closest one in size yet, the BBC reports. Don’t get your hopes up: Though Gliese 581 e, which lies outside our solar system, is just twice as large as Earth, it travels far too close to its sun... More »

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telescope • Earth • Chile • solar system • exoplanet • outer space • Gliese 581 e

 Kepler Begins
 Search for 
 Other 'Earths'

Spacecraft will spend next 3 years searching for planet in 'Goldilocks zone'

Mar 7, 09 2:18 AM CST
(Newser) - NASA's planet-hunting spacecraft Kepler was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral last night, Space.com reports. Kepler, the widest-field telescope ever sent into space, will spend the next three years scanning the sky for a planet in the "Goldilocks zone" where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist... More »

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space exploration • planet • Earth • exoplanet • Cape Canaveral • Kepler spacecraft • space telescope • outer space

(Newser) - A nearby solar system looks a lot like ours, complete with newly identified asteroid belts, gas giants, and a similarly sized sun, Space.com reports. The star at the center of the system is visible without magnification, and scientists say they can infer the presence of planets in a zone... More »

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astronomy • planet • space • star • Spitzer orbiting telescope • exoplanet • asteroid belt • Epsilon Eridani

Sky's the Limit in Powerful
New Searches for Alien Life

Pioneering technology
rachets up ET hunt

Feb 21, 08 4:27 AM CST
(Newser) - Powerful new instruments will help scientists in their search for extra-terrestrial life, the Christian Science Monitor writes. New telescopes will make it possible for the SETI Institute to scan millions of star systems for alien radio signals. Only a thousand have been analyzed in detail so far, but the institute... More »

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astronomy • space • extraterrestrial life • aliens • exoplanet • radio telescope • telescopes • SETI • ET

Largest Planet Ever Discovered

Huge, lightweight discovery puzzles scientists

Aug 7, 07 1:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Forget Jupiter. Scientists have discovered the largest planet out there—a "puffy" space mass almost twice the size of our solar system's gas giant. But the find is posing more questions than answers, Space.com reports: TrES-4’s mass is large but its density is about the same as... More »

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astronomy • planet • space • exoplanet • Lowell Observatory • Georgi Mandushev • discovery

Crop of New Planets Means Better Chance of Life

Rapid discovery of planets outside our solar system ups odds one has liquid water

May 29, 07 7:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - Astronomers who've spotted 28 new planets in the past year are gaining confidence that other solar systems may be able to support life like ours. One researcher estimated that there are probably "tens of billions" of planets with habitable conditions, most important of which is hospitality to water. More »

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astronomy • planet • space • solar system • universe • exoplanet

10 Stories


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