Detector technology could help NASA find Earth-like exoplanets
Thursday, July 22, 2010 - 14:35
in Astronomy & Space
The hunt is on for Earth-like planets outside of our solar system. Since the 1990s, astronomers have detected more than 450 extrasolar planets -- mostly large Jupiter-sized bodies -- around nearby stars. Advances in technology are fueling the quest to find smaller, rocky planets resembling Earth and, possibly, evidence of life.