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Article: A Distant Solar System Has Five Planets; Find Means 'Now We Know Our Sun and Its Family Is Not Unusual'
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- November 7, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Astronomers have discovered a fifth planet orbiting a distant
sun, marking the first time that another solar system with that many
circling bodies has been found.
The central star, named 55 Cancri, has smaller and larger planets
circling on paths similar to those in our solar system. Astronomers
said that while the planets are unlike those in our solar system in
terms of their size and distance from the sun, the fact that they
are all circling in stable orbits is highly significant.
"Now we know our sun and its family is not unusual," said
astronomer Geoff Marcy of the University of California at Berkeley.
"Our Milky Way has 200 billion stars and billions of solar systems.
We suspect that ...