Friday, March 04, 2005
Planet Quest
A decade ago, the spottings of new planets outside our solar system made front-page news. But as more and more orbs started popping out in the sky, their visibility to the general public dimmed.
The planet hunt is still on, though. Big time. Just this year, astronomers have already discovered 11 planets. In total, we've found 152 planets and 134 planetary systems with one or more planets. One planet, called TrES-1b might even have rings like our neighbor Saturn.
Some stargazers have started searching for habitable planets, which are defined as having a temperature of about 300K to allow for liquid water.
Many of the observations have been made by amateur astronomers with backyard telescopes. For a complete tally, and planet detection methods check out the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia.
The planet hunt is still on, though. Big time. Just this year, astronomers have already discovered 11 planets. In total, we've found 152 planets and 134 planetary systems with one or more planets. One planet, called TrES-1b might even have rings like our neighbor Saturn.
Some stargazers have started searching for habitable planets, which are defined as having a temperature of about 300K to allow for liquid water.
Many of the observations have been made by amateur astronomers with backyard telescopes. For a complete tally, and planet detection methods check out the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia.
