Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Astroarticle

I'm thinking the next few posts are going to seem like they should be the random bit of the day.  However, though they seem random, they are not.  These are some bookmarks in my bookmark bar.  I haven't looked at them in a while but I think they're particularly interesting (or else I wouldn't have bookmarked them).

The first is an article that someone sent to me around the time I took my Astronomy class in college (Fall semester 2008).  I remember my teacher talking about how scientists are finding planets around distant stars all the time.   But because the manner in which they find them is based on the 'wobble' they create in the light that we see from the star, the planets they've found have mostly been quite large and very close to their stars.  I think the nickname for them was 'Hot Jupiters' and the odds of life (let alone intelligent life) is highly unlikely.  Anyways, the article is available here:
Photo captures three planets by distant sun
I know it's a little old in terms of Astronomy, like how much and how quickly things are discovered these days, but like I said before, I like it.  So there ya have it.

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