Kepler telescope discovers six planets around sun-like star

Posted on Thursday, February 03 2011 @ 0:01 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
NASA's Kepler telescope has discovered a star with six planets, the largest collection of planets yet spotted orbiting a single star.
Today, the team running NASA's Kepler observatory is announcing the largest collection of planets yet spotted orbiting a single star. That star, now called Kepler-11, hosts at least a half-dozen planets, most in orbits closer to their star than Mercury is to ours. The tightly packed system consists of low-density planets, suggesting that they have a substantial gas or liquid composition at distances close enough to the star that the material risks boiling off. The whole thing, from the orbits to the planets themselves, appears to be teetering on the edge of stability.
More info at ARS Technica.



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Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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