NASA Believes Earthlike Planets May be Common
from CNN
Earthlike planets covered with deep oceans that could harbor life may be found in as many as a third of solar systems discovered outside of our own. These solar systems feature gas giants known as "Hot Jupiters," which orbit extremely close to their parent stars -- even closer than Mercury to our sun. The close-orbiting gassy planets may help encourage the formations of smaller, rocky, Earthlike planets.
The team from Colorado, Penn State University and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Maryland ran computer simulations of various types of solar systems forming. The gas giants may help rocky planets form close to the suns, and may help pull in icy bodies that deliver water to the young planets.
Water is key to life as humans define it. As many as 40 percent of the 200 or so known planets around other stars are Hot Jupiters.
Earthlike planets covered with deep oceans that could harbor life may be found in as many as a third of solar systems discovered outside of our own. These solar systems feature gas giants known as "Hot Jupiters," which orbit extremely close to their parent stars -- even closer than Mercury to our sun. The close-orbiting gassy planets may help encourage the formations of smaller, rocky, Earthlike planets.
The team from Colorado, Penn State University and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Maryland ran computer simulations of various types of solar systems forming. The gas giants may help rocky planets form close to the suns, and may help pull in icy bodies that deliver water to the young planets.
Water is key to life as humans define it. As many as 40 percent of the 200 or so known planets around other stars are Hot Jupiters.
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