Astronomers have discovered 60 new planets orbiting stars near the Earth’s solar system.

[kevindavis007]

The team of international scientists, which include Dr Mikko Tuomi of the University of Hertfordshire, also found evidence of a further 54 planets – bringing the total number of potential new worlds to 114.


A hot “super-Earth” with a rocky surface located in the fourth nearest star system to the sun was among the extrasolar planets discovered.


A visualisation of red and blue shifts of starlight caused by a planet’s gravitational pull. (University of Hertfordshire/PA)
Researchers said the planet – named Gliese 411b – demonstrates that “virtually all” the nearest stars to the sun have planets orbiting them and some of these “could be like Earth”.


The results are based on almost 61,000 individual observations of 1,600 stars taken over a 20-year period by US astronomers using the Keck-I telescope in Hawaii.


Read More: http://www.isn-news.net/2017/02/60-new-planets-found-around-stars-on.html

[kevindavis007]

Well it is a matter of time that we find a duplicate Earth..


I think we should start a pool..


I'm thinking 2020 is the year we do..



Space Ping!


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[Cripplecreek]

I want a double if it isn't too much trouble, thanks.

[kevindavis007]

I want a double if it isn't too much trouble, thanks.

@Cripplecreek


I'll put you down for 2020..

[geronl]

The more the merrier

[Joe Wooten]

Well it is a matter of time that we find a duplicate Earth..


I think we should start a pool..


I'm thinking 2020 is the year we do..

Maybe 2020, though given what they have found so far, habitable planets may be the exception to the rule. I would not be surprised if it takes longer than that.

[Cripplecreek]

Maybe 2020, though given what they have found so far, habitable planets may be the exception to the rule. I would not be surprised if it takes longer than that.

No doubt the exception to the rule but with an ever growing number of nearly infinite number of chances. Plus we're still in the early stages of even being able to detect earth mass rocky planets around close small dim stars. "Earthlike" planets are most likely to be found around sunlike stars where its still hard to spot them.

We know that some gas giants orbit in the habitable zones around their stars so I think habitable moons would be a cool discovery as well.

[Joe Wooten]

No doubt the exception to the rule but with an ever growing number of nearly infinite number of chances. Plus we're still in the early stages of even being able to detect earth mass rocky planets around close small dim stars. "Earthlike" planets are most likely to be found around sunlike stars where its still hard to spot them.

We know that some gas giants orbit in the habitable zones around their stars so I think habitable moons would be a cool discovery as well.

Since Jupiter has Van Allen belts that make life impossible on the surface of the Galilean moons, and habitable moon of a gas giant would have to be in an orbit that did not tidally lock the rotation so it could have a magnetic field to keep the radiation away. It still would be an impressive sight in the sky though....

[Doug Loss]

If you'd like to help:

Enormous exoplanet-hunting dataset released to the public
Systemic Console 2
systemic: characterizing planets