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Astronomers Find Solar System Like Our Own

by Terrence O'Brien on February 20, 2008 at 08:37 AM

Astronomers Find Solar System Like Our Own
Last week, astronomers announced that they had discovered a solar system that was "like our own" about 5,000 light years away. And, of course, by like our own they mean that it might be... potentially... kinda-sorta... similar in some respects... to our own solar system.

The new system has a red star at the center about half the mass of our own sun and is orbited by at least two planets. The two planets discovered are large gas giants, but unlike previously discovered planetary systems, they're orbiting farther out from their star, allowing room for potential smaller rocky planets to exist.

One planet is about two-thirds the size the Jupiter, while the second is roughly 90 percent of the size of Saturn. Both planets in the new solar system orbit at a much shorter distance from their sun than either Saturn or Jupiter orbit from our sun.

The most amazing part of the discovery, however,is that some of the most important data was produced by a pair of amateur astronomers from Auckland, New Zealand. Jennie McCormick and Grant Christie were able to calculate not only the mass of the star and the planets, but also an approximation of their orbits -- all by using a simple 10-inch Meade telescope in Ms. McCormick's shed.

Until now. all work on extra-solar planets was done at massive multi-million dollar telescopes, which just proves that even expensive astronomical equipment is not immune to the democratization of resources that advances in technology have aleady brought to music-, film-, and video-creation, among other previously expensive and hard-to-break-into endeavors.

From the New York Times

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Tags: astronomy, planet, science, solar system, SolarSystem, space

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