Astronomers hail planetary discovery

[Luis G]

WOW !!!!

Astronomers have discovered a planetary system around another star that is similar in scale to our Solar System.

It reminds them of home, say the researchers

The scientists, Geoffrey Marcy of the University of California at Berkeley and Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, are also announcing the discovery of 13 new planets, bringing the number of known so-called exoplanets - planets outside our own system - to over 100.

They have also found the smallest exoplanet yet. It is only 40 times more massive than Earth.

Detecting Earth-sized planets is probably not possible using current ground-based techniques. That will have to wait for a new generation of satellite observatories, due in the next decade.

Whole story here

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[Inkara1]

Remember that 10th planet scientists thought our solar system had 10-15 years ago?

 

[Luis G]

lol, it was Alf's planet

 

[Inkara1]

I had an astronomy class a couple of semesters ago, and I asked the professor about that. I wish I could remember what he told me it turned out to be.

 

[Luis G]

You know, this one might be true, technology have improved so much ever since the 80s. Plus, the smaller of the planets is 40 times the size of Earth.

And the sytem is 41 light-years from Earth.

 

[karlwb]

IT'S REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PLANET X EXISTS!!!

http://xfacts.com/x2.htm

 

[Professur]

They've estimated that there are Earth sized lumps of ice orbiting in the Oort cloud. But they're so far out and reflect so little light that they're impossible to find. And if they're outside the solar plane they have very little effect on the other planets.

 

[equinoxe3d]

If the discovery was by the NASA it surely would've gone like that:


It has a sun, It is the same size as our solar system, but it's actually wayyy farther from us

Wheee! We discovered a new planetary system


Then a few days later in the news...

[...]A programming error of the observatory system led the NASA to think they found another system, whereas they were actually exploring the actual solar system; one of the engineers used light days instead of years, leading to the re-discovery of our own planet Jupiter.

 

[sbcanada]

The smallest planet is 40 times the size of earth? I don't think that could support life even if it had water and a breathable atmosphere... everybody would be sucked to that mofo like a giant magnet.

 

[Justintime]

But the story begins more than a century before that, after the discovery of Uranus in 1781

 

[Justintime]

which turned out to be 2% larger than expected from the perturbations upon Uranus

 

[DuronClocker]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!! Nice Justintime!

Originally posted by Anakin
The smallest planet is 40 times the size of earth? I don't think that could support life even if it had water and a breathable atmosphere... everybody would be sucked to that mofo like a giant magnet.

Actually...the planet's size is not the only factor in the equation for gravity. It also depends largely upon the speed of rotation...