Although NASA’s Kepler space telescope is no longer functioning, astronomers examining the data it provided say they now have enough information to answer its main research question: How many of the 200 billion stars in our galaxy have habitable planets? The Kepler space telescope was launched in 2009 to look for planets outside the solar […]
Astronomers have found the first multi-planet solar system orbiting a binary star (artist’s impression appears right). Importantly, the discovery shows that planetary systems can form and survive even in the chaotic environment around a binary star. The system, known as Kepler-47, is roughly 5000 light-years away. The discovery was detailed this week at the International […]
One of astronomy’s current goals is to determine the number of sun-like stars that have an earth-like planet. Now, a new guesstimate from the University of California – Berkeley published in Science puts that number at a very high 1-in-4. To arrive at the 1-in-4 figure, UC Berkeley astronomers Andrew Howard and Geoffrey Marcy chose […]
Terrestrial planets might form around many, if not most, of the nearby sun-like stars in the disk of our galaxy, believe University of Arizona astronomers. Revealing the findings to attendees at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, team leader Michael Meyer said that at least 20 percent, and possibly […]
Astronomers could soon be using a gigantic space-parasol to block out starlight that interferes with the view of planets in other solar systems. The daisy-shaped space shield could be used in conjunction with an orbiting telescope to get clear images of the more than 175 planets that have been discovered orbiting other stars, say the […]
