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Hot Topic
Deep Space
New Planets
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Viewing Vulcan
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| Topic: New Planets |
05/16/07 |
| Astronomers have concluded that NASA's upcoming SIM PlanetQUest mission will be able to search for Earth-like planets 16 light-years away. SIM PlanetQuest could be followed by the Terrestrial Planet Finder mission, which will be powerful enough to see distant planets and scan them for signs of life. |
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Mapping an Alien World
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| Topic: New Planets |
05/12/07 |
| For the first time, astronomers have created a rough map of a planet orbiting a distant sun-like star, employing a technique that may one day enable mapping of Earth-like worlds. |
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Hot Stuff
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| Topic: New Planets |
05/11/07 |
| A team of researchers have measured the hottest temperature ever recorded on a planet at 3700 Degrees Fahrenheit. The steamy planet is HD 149026b, which orbits a star about 260 light years away. |
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COROT Nets its First Planet
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| Topic: New Planets |
05/08/07 |
| COROT has provided its first image of a giant exoplanet and the first bit of 'seismic' information on a far away, Sun-like star. The accuracy of this raw data shows that COROT will be able to see rocky planets - perhaps even as small as Earth. |
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Most Massive Planet
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| Topic: New Planets |
05/06/07 |
| Astronomers have discovered a unique exoplanet that is 1.18 times the size of Jupiter, but is very dense with 8.2 times Jupiter's mass. The planet completes one orbit around its host star in just 5.63 days. |
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Astronomers Find Habitable Earth-like Planet
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| Topic: New Planets |
04/25/07 |
| Astronomers have discovered the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System to date. The planet is only 50% larger than Earth and orbits within the ‘habitable zone´ of the star Gliese 581, meaning that the planet could possibly harbor liquid water. |
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Finding Earth's Twin
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| Topic: New Planets |
04/15/07 |
| NASA researchers have demonstrated that a space telescope rigged with the right equipment could actually photograph an Earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star. The accomplishment is a major step forward in the search for habitable environments beyond the Solar System. |
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Water in Extrasolar Planet's Atmosphere
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| Topic: New Planets |
04/12/07 |
| For the first time, strong evidence for water has been identified in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet. The planet, HD209458b, is located 150 light years from Earth. |
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Light from Alien Words
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| Topic: New Planets |
02/23/07 |
| NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has for the first time captured enough light from exoplanets to identify signatures of molecules in their atmospheres. The feat is a significant step toward being able to identify life beyond our solar system. |
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Cutting into Planet Layers
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| Topic: New Planets |
02/04/07 |
| NASA's powerful Hubble Space Telescope has allowed astronomers to study for the first time the layer-cake structure of a planet orbiting another star. |
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