When it comes to finding the right kind of planet to target in the search for life elsewhere in the universe, the size of the planet matters. All planets are believed to form by a process of competitive cannibalism, in a disk of material around a nascent star. Small pieces of dust collide and grow,…
Tag: exoplanets
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New Type Of Exoplanet Discovered
by Staff •
Traditionally, planets been put into one of two categories: rocky or gas giant. However, researchers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have now announced the discovery of a third type of planet: a gas dwarf. The research was described in Nature and was presented today at the 224th Meeting of the American Astronomical Association. …