Only a couple of decades ago the very suggestion of finding extrasolar planets on a large scale was scoffed at by establishment know-it-alls. Nowadays, it seems we’re finding planets almost everywhere, and those who believe in extraterrestrial life are not surprised at all. This recent story from National Geographic describes the latest findings where the star HD 10180, a star in the Hydrus constellation is now thought to be host to more planets than our own solar system.
“A star about 127 light-years from Earth may have even more planets than the sun, which would make the planetary system the most populated yet found.”
“According to a new study, HD 10180—a sunlike star in the southern constellation Hydrus—may have as many as nine orbiting planets, besting the eight official planets in our solar system. The star first made headlines in 2010 with the announcement of five confirmed planets and two more planetary candidates.”
“Now, reanalysis of nearly a decade’s worth of data has not only confirmed the existence of the two possible planets but also uncovered the telltale signals of two additional planets possibly circling the star, bringing the total to nine.”
“There certainly is, according to my results, strong evidence that this is the most populous planetary system detected—possibly even richer than the solar system,” said study leader Mikko Tuomi, an astronomer at the University of Hertfordshire in the U.K. “But the two new planetary signals I report exceed the detection threshold only just.”
“Early indications are that both newly detected worlds are super-Earths—planets slightly larger than Earth with rocky surfaces—but more measurements will be needed to confirm their existence.”
Read the full story here
(Feature Photo Credit Dallas1200am)
This is my term paper topic. I like how they just know everything without knowing how to build a spaceship advanced enough to go and see. Scientists know how the universe began, they know how much it weighs, they even know how to make seedless watermelons. Amazing.
@UK Superior
Hang fire with the “they know how the Universe began” phrase, Sir!
The Big Bang theory requires four or five hypothetical entities to be legitimate. You will be told by all and sundry that it is “the prevailing cosmological model” but the previous cosmological model was the one put forth by the Bible which only required 1 hypothetical entity =)
Good luck with your paper, nevertheless!