{"id":6054,"date":"2014-01-15T17:25:32","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T17:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6054"},"modified":"2014-01-15T17:25:32","modified_gmt":"2014-01-15T17:25:32","slug":"eso-spots-planet-orbiting-star-similar-to-the-sun-in-star-cluster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6054","title":{"rendered":"ESO spots planet orbiting star similar to the sun in star cluster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s an announcement from \u00a0ESO<\/a>\u00a0(European Southern Observatory):<\/p>\n

First Planet Found Around Solar Twin in Star Cluster<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Six-year search with HARPS finds three new planets in Messier 67<\/em><\/p>\n

Astronomers have used ESO’s HARPS planet hunter<\/a> in Chile, along with other telescopes around the world, to discover three planets orbiting stars in the cluster Messier 67. Although more than one thousand planets outside the Solar System are now confirmed, only a handful have been found in star clusters. Remarkably one of these new exoplanets is orbiting a star that is a rare solar twin \u2014 a star that is almost identical to the Sun in all respects.<\/p>\n

Planets orbiting stars outside the Solar System are now known to be very common. These exoplanets have been found orbiting stars of widely varied ages and chemical compositions and are scattered across the sky. But, up to now, very few planets have been found inside star clusters\u00a0[1]<\/a>. This is particularly odd as it is known that most stars are born in such clusters. Astronomers have wondered if there might be something different about planet formation in star clusters to explain this strange paucity.<\/p>\n

Loading player…<\/div>\n