NGC 6811 Is The First Star Cluster Found With Transiting Planets
Thursday, June 27, 2013 - 09:31
in Astronomy & Space
All stars begin their lives in groups, though most, including our Sun, are born in small, benign groups that quickly fell apart. Others form in huge, dense swarms that survive for billions of years as stellar clusters. Within such rich and dense clusters, stars jostle for room with thousands of neighbors while strong radiation and harsh stellar winds scour interstellar space, stripping planet-forming materials from nearby stars. That's an unlikely place to find alien worlds. Yet 3,000 light-years from Earth in the star cluster NGC 6811, astronomers have found two planets smaller than Neptune orbiting Sun-like stars. read more