| Elliptical
orbits may be planetary norm
Astronomers have
found six additional planets orbiting nearby, sunlike stars, bringing to
28 the number of known extrasolar planets and suggesting that
near-circular orbits like Earth’s are unusual.
References:
Vogt, S.S., G.W.
Marcy, R.P. Butler, and K. Apps. 1999. Six new planets from the Keck
Precision Velocity Survey. Available at http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/astro-ph/9911506.
Further Readings:
Cowen, R. 1999.
Solar system planets: Freaks of nature? Science News 155(Jan.
30):79.
Sources:
Kevin Apps
University of Sussex at Brighton
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ
United Kingdom
R. Paul Butler
Carnegie Institution
Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
5241 Broad Branch Road, N.W.
Washington, DC 20015-1305
Geoffrey W.
Marcy
University of California, Berkeley
Department of Astronomy
Berkeley, CA 94720
Steven S. Vogt
University of California, Santa Cruz
UCO/Lick Observatory
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
From Science
News, Vol. 156, No. 24, December 11, 1999, p. 377. Copyright ©
1999, Science Service. |