Watery, rocky planets may be common in the Milky Way
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - 17:14
in Astronomy & Space
(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of astronomers have discovered compelling evidence that rocky planets are commonplace in our Galaxy. Leicester University scientist and lead researcher Dr Jay Farihi surveyed white dwarfs, the compact remnants of stars that were once like our Sun, and found that many show signs of contamination by heavier elements and possibly even water, improving the prospects for extraterrestrial life. On Tuesday 13th April Dr Farihi presented his results at the RAS National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2010) in Glasgow.