Wobbly Planets, Velocity And Finding Earth-Like Moons
Thursday, December 11, 2008 - 11:27
in Astronomy & Space
Moons outside our Solar System with the potential to support life have just become much easier to detect, thanks to research by an astronomer at University College London (UCL). David Kipping has found that such moons can be revealed by looking at wobbles in the velocity of the planets they orbit. His calculations, which appear in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society today, not only allow us to confirm if a planet has a satellite but to calculate its mass and distance from its host planet factors that determine the likely habitabiliity of a moon. read more
Read the whole article on Scientific Blogging
More from Scientific Blogging
Related
- Wobbly planets could reveal Earth-like moonsThu, 11 Dec 2008, 12:30:25 EST
- Looking for extraterrestrial life in all the right placesMon, 15 Dec 2008, 9:17:52 EST
- European team finds smallest transiting extrasolar planet everTue, 3 Feb 2009, 9:59:49 EST
- A trio of super-EarthsMon, 16 Jun 2008, 10:15:50 EDT
- Astronomers find tiny planet orbiting tiny starMon, 2 Jun 2008, 13:29:09 EDT