- Jan 7, 2002
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SYDNEY: There are three times as many stars in the universe as they had previously supposed - and "possibly trillions of Earths orbiting these stars" - say astronomers.
The startling find, published in the British journal Nature, has exciting implications for the discovery of new planets as well as theories on galaxy formation and dark matter.
Astronomers Pieter van Dokkum and Charles Conroy found greater than expected numbers of faint, small stars known as red dwarfs in relatively close galaxies as observed with Hawaii's twin Keck Telescopes.
"Possibly trillions of Earths"
More stars means potentially many more planets, says lead author and astronomer van Dokkum, from Yale University, Connecticut: "There are possibly trillions of Earths orbiting these stars," he said.
There are currently 504 known exoplanets, most of which are large gaseous planets similar to or larger than Jupiter. But Earth-like planets have been found around red dwarf stars, including Gliese 581, a red dwarf whose planet count was recently [Sept] updated to six.
The red dwarf stars that the team discovered are typically more than 10 billion years old, old enough for complex life to have evolved, van Dokkum points out. "It's one reason why people are interested in this type of star.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/3899/numbers-stars-universe-tripled
The startling find, published in the British journal Nature, has exciting implications for the discovery of new planets as well as theories on galaxy formation and dark matter.
Astronomers Pieter van Dokkum and Charles Conroy found greater than expected numbers of faint, small stars known as red dwarfs in relatively close galaxies as observed with Hawaii's twin Keck Telescopes.
"Possibly trillions of Earths"
More stars means potentially many more planets, says lead author and astronomer van Dokkum, from Yale University, Connecticut: "There are possibly trillions of Earths orbiting these stars," he said.
There are currently 504 known exoplanets, most of which are large gaseous planets similar to or larger than Jupiter. But Earth-like planets have been found around red dwarf stars, including Gliese 581, a red dwarf whose planet count was recently [Sept] updated to six.
The red dwarf stars that the team discovered are typically more than 10 billion years old, old enough for complex life to have evolved, van Dokkum points out. "It's one reason why people are interested in this type of star.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/3899/numbers-stars-universe-tripled
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