The BBC reported today that astronomers from St. Andrews University have discovered two giant gas planets very similar to Saturn and Jupiter that orbit around a star one-half the size of our sun. This finding increases the liklihood that our solar system is not entirely unique and there may be other solar systems out there like it. So far, none of the planets we've discovered have been able to support life as we know it due to gaseousness or close proximity to their star. While it is relatively easy to detect large gas giants in a tight orbit, technology is improving for detecting smaller planets in more distant orbits. The technology used is called micro-lensing and it allows astronomers to look for bent and magnified light from planetary gravitational fields. We have already discovered planets with masses less than Earth's and gas giants with the same proximity to its star as the Earth is from the sun.
www.dailyastronomy.com
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