TALLAHASSEE, FL - European astronomers have discovered a new
planet that resembles Earth in some ways, but in other ways is very different. Found in the Alpha Centauri system, our Sun’s
closest neighbor, the planet has yet to be named. But the discovery has launched a number of
probes into the possibility of exploration of the region 4.4 light-years away.
“Very small planets are
rare,” said the planet’s discoverer graduate student Xavier Dumusque. “When you
find one small planet, you find others.”
Dumusque said there is a
possibility of other similar, but livable planets in the region.
The surface of the planet
measures in at a scorching 1,200 degrees, making the Earth-sized planet
uninhabitable.
Although the discovery is a
breakthrough, astronomers have been searching the region for many years; it
still requires a second discovery for conformation.
“The discovery that our
nearest neighbor has rocky planets is the story of the decade,” said Debra
Fischer, a Yale astronomer. “I’d bet $100 that there are other planets that are
there as well.”
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| Artists rendition of the Alpha Centauri system. www.nytimes.com |
Dumusque and his colleagues
have tracked a host star in the region for the past four years, totaling 450
observations. They used a spectrograph that tracks magnetic movements in space
to pinpoint the location of the planet.
Exoplanet astronomer
Geoffrey Marcy at the University of California Berkley said the discovery could
jolt the space exploration program out of reduced funding and lack of interest.
He said what is necessary is a probe.
“What a great scientific
educational mission to have a probe out there, making its way decade after
decade,” Marcy said.
Marcy has been critical of
the space program’s lack of initiative in discovery within the Universe.
Alpha Centauri is a triple-star
system; one, Alpha Centauri A, is larger and brighter than our Sun; Alpha
Centauri B is smaller than our Sun and Proxima Centauri is the smallest and
closest to the size of Earth.
Alpha Centauri B is the
star that would provide the ideal conditions for creating water and supporting
life.
Virtual journey from Earth to the Alpha Centauri
By Karl Etters
With contributions from, The
New York Times
Photo, The New York Times
Video, Kowch737
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