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troutman · 01-25-2006, 03:38 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/200601...tingnormalstar

The planet and star are separated by about 2.5 astronomical units (AU). One AU is equal to the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Until now, no small planet had been found farther than 0.15 au from its parent star.

The finding means planet hunters are one step closer to detecting their holy grail: a habitable Earth-like planet that can sustain liquid water and support life.

"We may predict with reasonable probability that microlensing will discover planets with masses like that of Earth at a similar distance from their stars and with comparable surface temperature," said study co-author Bohdan Paczynski from Princeton University.

01-25-2006, 03:38 PM	#1
troutman Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Crowsnest Pass Exp:	"Earth-Like" Planet Discovered http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/200601...tingnormalstar The planet and star are separated by about 2.5 astronomical units (AU). One AU is equal to the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Until now, no small planet had been found farther than 0.15 au from its parent star. The finding means planet hunters are one step closer to detecting their holy grail: a habitable Earth-like planet that can sustain liquid water and support life. "We may predict with reasonable probability that microlensing will discover planets with masses like that of Earth at a similar distance from their stars and with comparable surface temperature," said study co-author Bohdan Paczynski from Princeton University.