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Solar system with seven planets and a sun found


Mr. Gayle

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A solar system containing up to seven planets orbiting a sun-like star has been detected 127 light years from Earth.

The planetary system is believed to be the largest ever discovered beyond the sun.

Astronomers have confirmed the presence of five planets and have tantalising evidence of two more.

Discovery: An artist's impression shows the planetary system around the sun-like star HD 10180

Discovery: An artist's impression shows the planetary system around the sun-like star HD 10180

The distance of the planets from their parent star follow a regular pattern, similar to that seen in our own solar system.

'We have found what is most likely the system with the most planets yet discovered,' said Dr Christophe Lovis, who led the European Southern Observatory (ESO) scientists.

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'This remarkable discovery also highlights the fact that we are now entering a new era in exoplanet research: the study of complex planetary systems and not just of individual planets.

'Studies of planetary motions in the new system reveal complex gravitational interactions between the planets and give us insights into the long-term evolution of the system.'

The parent star, known as HD 10180, lies in the southern constellation of Hydrus 127 light years away.

Astronomers patiently studied it for six years using a planet-finding instrument called the HARPS spectrograph, attached to ESO's 3.6 metre (11.8ft) telescope at La Silla, Chile.

127 light years from Earth: A photograph of the region around the star HD 10180

127 light years from Earth: A photograph of the region around the star HD 10180

From 190 individual HARPS measurements, they were able to detect tiny wobbles in the star's motion caused by the gravitational tugs of its planets.

The five strongest signals corresponded to planets with Neptune-like masses, between 13 and 25 times that of the Earth.

These planets, with orbit periods ranging from six to 600 days, are separated from their star at 0.06 to 1.4 times the distance between the Earth and sun.

Dr Lovis added: 'We also have good reasons to believe that two other planets are present. One would be a Saturn-like planet (with a minimum mass of 65 Earth masses) orbiting in 2,200 days. The other would be the least massive exoplanet ever discovered, with a mass of about 1.4 times that of the Earth.

'It is very close to its host star, at just two per cent of the Earth-sun distance. One 'year' on this planet would last only 1.18 Earth days.'

The planet would be rocky, like the Earth, but probably far too hot to sustain life.

With at least five Neptune-sized planets circling inside an orbit equivalent to that of Mars, the HD 10180 system has a more populated inner region than our solar system.

So far astronomers have found 15 systems containing at least three planets.

The last record holder was 55 Cancri, which has a total of five planets including two gas giants.

Details of the discovery were presented today at an exoplanet meeting at the Haute-Provence Observatory in south-east France.

A paper on the re

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1305834/Solar-seven-planets-sun-found.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0xZ6rAAsR

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thought this pic i see the other day was pretty sick.

153tezc.jpg

A spiral galaxy, named “NGC 4911”, lies deep within the Coma Cluster of galaxies. This photo is produced by the Hubble Telescope by combining 28 hours of exposure through three years. This galaxy is 320 million light-years away. It lies in the constellation Coma Berenices.
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Absolutely amazing. Just a matter of time before they find a planet with life.

they have found quite a few planets that could harbour life, some of them a bit earth like aswell i think.

but i dont think life would be found first outside of the solar system. its just a lot harder to try to analyse something so far away and find concrete proof from telescope analysis alone. its far more likely that probes going to Europa, Triton and the other moons of the solar system will turn up with evidence of life. especially on Europa, i think its just a matter of time before microbial life is found there at least.

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sh*t like this just makes me think i was born 500 years too early

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thought this pic i see the other day was pretty sick.

153tezc.jpg

A spiral galaxy, named “NGC 4911”, lies deep within the Coma Cluster of galaxies. This photo is produced by the Hubble Telescope by combining 28 hours of exposure through three years. This galaxy is 320 million light-years away. It lies in the constellation Coma Berenices.

find it kinda hard sometimes to actually contemplate what these pictures show

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Just makes me wonder wtf I am doing.

Seriously why are we here? Like, what made all these planets? I just don't get it. I can't comprehend the size of things being hundreds of times the size of earth.

Exactly.

Crazy stuff.

Its mad how we humans are so small in comparison to the universe etc but yet we are quite aware to an extent of how small we are.

Humand minds = powerful.

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Guest Triple XXX

sh*t like this just makes me think i was born 500 years too early

trust

i really hope we get to have another life cos id hate to miss out on whats coming up in the next couple hundred years

also hope i dont come back as a woman or an animal

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sh*t like this just makes me think i was born 500 years too early

trust

i really hope we get to have another life cos id hate to miss out on whats coming up in the next couple hundred years

I think this sometimes but then again, thinking that often leads to thinking allow being around when one of the following happens

287147-33717-51.jpg

nagasaki_nuclear_bomb.jpg?1202599603

CDC_salmonella_outbreak_2009.jpg

asteroid.jpg

godzilla_wikipedia.jpg

independence-day.jpg

skynet.jpg

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