Astronomers Find Super-Earth Using Amateur, Off-the-Shelf Technology (w/ Video)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - 14:00
in Astronomy & Space
(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers announced today that they have discovered a "super-Earth" orbiting a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. They found the distant planet with a small fleet of ground-based telescopes no larger than those many amateur astronomers have in their backyards. Although the super-Earth is too hot to sustain life, the discovery shows that current, ground-based technologies are capable of finding almost-Earth-sized planets in warm, life-friendly orbits.