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NEWS ABOUT: exoplanet

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'Super Earth' Spotted, Might Support Life

GG 667Cc orbits star 22 light years away

(Newser) - A planet in a triple-star system a relatively close 22 light years away is the best candidate yet for supporting life, researchers say. The rocky planet, GJ 667Cc, is around 4.5 times the size of Earth and orbits in the middle of the "Goldilocks zone" where water can... More »

Scientists Find 11 New Planetary Systems

Triples number of known multiplanetary star systems

(Newser) - The Kepler space telescope has discovered a whopping 11 new planetary systems that are home to 26 planets—thus tripling the number of stars that have more than one planet that passes in front of them and doubling the number of exoplanets confirmed by the Kepler mission. "Prior to... More »

Space Telescope Spots Earth-Sized Worlds

Kepler discoveries are smallest exoplanets yet found

(Newser) - For the first time, scientists have discovered planets roughly the size of ours outside our solar system. Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f are the smallest exoplanets yet found, Discovery reports. Because they're so close to the star they orbit, they don't appear habitable, but the finding is "next major... More »

Newfound 'Super-Earth' Might Support Life

It's one of 50 new exoplanets found by European telescope

(Newser) - A telescope at the European Southern Observatory has spotted 50 new exoplanets—and one of them is a so-called "super-Earth" that might just be habitable, Live Science reports. The telescope actually found 16 super-Earths—potentially rocky worlds sporting more mass than our beloved home world—but one designated HD... More »

Mysterious Exoplanet Darker Than Coal

Jupiter-sized planet reflects less than 1% of light

(Newser) - The mysterious exoplanet TrES-2b is a gas giant the size of Jupiter, but it reflects less than 1% of the light that hits it—making it darker than coal and one of the stranger objects astronomers have yet found, reports Discovery . "TrES-2b is considerably less reflective than black acrylic... More »

Scientists ID 'Habitable' Exoplanet

New model suggests Gliese 581D a likely candidate for life

(Newser) - A new computer climate model has turned up the strongest evidence yet that a planet in the Gliese system is capable of sustaining life, the Telegraph reports. Researchers believe Gliese 581d, which orbits a red dwarf 20 light years away, not only exists in the "Goldilocks zone" where water... More »

Astronomers Searching 86 Planets for Aliens

SETI project collecting data on planets likeliest to harbor life

(Newser) - American astronomers are searching for signs of alien life on 86 possible Earth-like planets deemed the likeliest to harbor life. The massive Green Bank radio telescope in rural West Virginia will home in on each of the 86—chosen from 1,235 possible planets located by NASA's Kepler telescope—... More »

In the Stars, Astronomers Find Music

By measuring minute changes in light, researchers can 'hear' the stars

(Newser) - The ancients believed in the "music of the spheres"—that the planets and stars moved through the heavens in harmonic ratios. Today's astronomers are also "listening" to the stars, using the powerful Kepler telescope to measure their internal vibrations, a technique they call "astroseismology." So... More »

NASA Finds Smallest Planet Outside Our Solar System

But Kepler-10b is too hot for human habitation

(Newser) - The Kepler space telescope has discovered a rocky planet that’s just 1.4 times the size of Earth orbiting a distant star—making it the smallest planet NASA has ever discovered outside of our solar system, and the only rocky one, NASA announced today. The bad news: The planet,... More »

Alien Planet Discovered in Milky Way

HIP 13044B and its star originated in different galaxy

(Newser) - As planets go, HIP 13044B is one hell of a survivor. Astronomers say the planet—the first one originating from another galaxy ever found in the Milky Way—is part of a solar system that once belonged to a dwarf galaxy that was cannibalized by our own. The planet has... More »

Planet-Hunters Make Biggest Find Yet: Vast New Solar System

Up to 7 planets spotted orbiting distant star

(Newser) - Astronomers have discovered the most planet-rich solar system outside our own ever discovered. At least five, and possibly seven, planets orbit a star 127 light years away called HD 10180. Researchers say they have clearly detected five Neptune-like planets and signs of two smaller ones. One is just 1.4... More »

New Exoplanet Has Earth-Like Climate

Corot-9b a 'Rosetta Stone' in planetary research

(Newser) - For the first time, a planet with temperatures like earth's has been discovered orbiting a distant star. While hundreds of exoplanets—planets orbiting suns outside our solar system—are already known, this one, named Corot-9b, is the first with a temperate climate that can be studied in depth, leading the... More »

Discovery of Earth's Twin 'Within Reach'

Kepler will find habitable planet like ours: astronomer

(Newser) - The Kepler spacecraft prowling the far reaches of the Milky Way will soon find a habitable planet similar to earth, a leading astronomer is convinced. Recent technological advances in the observation of planets outside our own solar system have rapidly brought us closer to finding earth's "twin" planet, says... More »

NASA Planet Hunter Finds 5 New Worlds

Glowing hot planets found, 100 possibles being analyzed

(Newser) - NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope has found its first five planets outside our solar system, and they're all hotter than molten lava.The planets are all much bigger than Earth and orbit their suns very closely. Their discovery is a dramatic demonstration that Kepler is working well, boosting the hopes of... More »

32 New Exoplanets Discovered

New finds signal that cosmos harbors wealth of planets

(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 »

Scientists Find Rocky Exoplanet

(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 »

New Planet Expected to Crash and Burn

It defies laws of physics

(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 »

Aussies to Zap Text Messages at Mystery Planet

(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 »

Search for 'Earth's Twin' Finds Similar-Sized Planet

(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 »

Kepler Begins Search for Other 'Earths'

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

(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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