22% of Sun-like stars have Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone

By Thomas Posted 05 Nov 2013 — 0 Comment ↓

The habitable zone corresponds to the range of orbital distances where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface. Credit: Petigura/UC Berkeley, Howard/UH-Manoa, Marcy/UC Berkeley.

How common are planets like Earth? That’s been a question astronomers and dreamers have pondered for decades, and now, thanks to the Kepler spacecraft, they have an answer. One in five Sun-like stars in our galaxy have Earth-sized planets that Continue reading →

Astronomers find tantalizing hints of a potentially habitable exoplanet

By Thomas Posted 08 Nov 2012 — 1 Comment ↓

The star HD 40307 is thought to host at least 6 exoplanet candidates… one of them well within its habitable zone. (G. Anglada/Celestia)

Located 43 light-years away in the southern constellation Pictor, the orange-colored dwarf star HD 40307 has previously been found to hold three “super-Earth” exoplanets in close orbit. Now, a team of researchers poring over data from ESO’s HARPS planet-hunting instrument Continue reading →

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22% of Sun-like stars have Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone

Astronomers find tantalizing hints of a potentially habitable exoplanet