Article: Planet hunters snap first pictures of other solar systems.(Innovation)

Byline: Peter N. Spotts Staff Writer for The Christian Science Monitor

In the hunt for solar systems beyond our own, astronomers have crossed an important threshold - capturing from the ground, as well as from space, the first direct images of planets around bright, sun-like stars.

Since September, three teams say they have imaged planet-candidates. The most recent reports, published in Thursday's issue of the journal Science, include a three-planet system around a variable star 128.5 light-years from Earth.

Until now, researchers have had to content themselves with shadowy, indirect approaches to finding planets - measuring a regular wobble in ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!