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Article: Planet's orbit similar to those in our solar system; 51 light years away: Planet is 1 of 3 circling sun-like star
- Article from:
- Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque)
- Article date:
- June 14, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2002 Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque). Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WASHINGTON (AP) - For the first time, astronomers have found a
distant planetary system with at least one planet whose orbit
resembles a member of our solar system.
Geoffrey Marcy, of the University of California, Berkeley, and
Paul Butler, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, said Thursday
they have found a planet about five times the size of Jupiter
circling a sun-like star at an orbital distance very like that of the
solar system's biggest planet.
The newly discovered planet is one of three planets circling a
star, called 55 Cancri, that is about 51 light years away from Earth.
"This is the first time that we've found a family of planets that
has some similarities to our own solar ...