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Astronomers Discover Earthlike Planet

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SANTA CRUZ, Calif., June 14 -- A team of astronomers discovered the smallest planet ever detected beyond our solar system -- a major milestone in the search for Earthlike planets. About seven and a half times as massive as Earth, with less than twice the radius, it may be the first rocky planet ever found orbiting a normal star not much different from our Sun. All of the nearly 150 other extrasolar planets discovered to date around normal stars have been larger than Uranus, an ice giant about 15 times the mass of the Earth. The new planet orbits the star Gliese 876, just 15 light-years away...Read full article

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    Published: June 2005
    Glossary
    astronomy
    The scientific observation of celestial radiation that has reached the vicinity of Earth, and the interpretation of these observations to determine the characteristics of the extraterrestrial bodies and phenomena that have emitted the radiation.
    spectrometer
    A kind of spectrograph in which some form of detector, other than a photographic film, is used to measure the distribution of radiation in a particular wavelength region.
    astronomersastronomyBasic ScienceCCDenergyhigh-resolution spectrometerHIRESKeck TelescopeNews & FeaturesSensors & DetectorsSpectrometerspectroscopyUniversity of California

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