Word: extrasolar
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...dusting of the stuff behind that can, in turn, coalesce into planets. All stars can additionally snag passing bodies in their gravitational lasso, conscripting new worlds to add to the home-grown litter. So it was no surprise in the early 1990s when astronomers began detecting these so-called extrasolar planets circling distant suns, and it's no surprise that in the years since they've spotted more than 220 of them. But the latest one added to the list is by far the best...
...Even if we could visit 581c, there would be reasons to wait a bit before we light the rockets. For one thing, just because the planet could have liquid water doesn't mean it does. The body was detected like all extrasolar planets initially are, not by direct observation, but by measuring the infinitesimal gravitational wobble it causes in its home star. We won't get a clearer sense of its makeup until its orbit carries it in front of the star and the brief interference in the wavelength and intensity of the incoming light allows us to make some...
...Charbonneau’s criticism, Barman cited similarities between Charbonneau’s landmark findings and his own. “David used the exact same method, exact same instrument, exact same telescope, the exact same planet, and the exact same uncertainty in measurements to discover the existence of extrasolar planets,” he said. [SEE CORRECTION BELOW...
...Charbonneau led a team in making the first detection of an atmosphere on an extrasolar planet, using a technique similar to transmission spectroscopy...
Charbonneau said that regardless of any discrepancies, Barman’s paper will help advance astronomy by forcing a closer comparison between predictions of atmospheres on extrasolar planets with actual data gathered by observatories. CORRECTION: The April 13 news article "Water Found in Planet's Skies" incorrectly quoted astronomer Travis Barman. He said that Assistant Professor of Astronomy David Charbonneau had discovered an extrasolar planet's atmosphere, not that Charbonneau had discovered an extrasolar planet...