10 new alien planets are a diverse bunch, telescope shows
A European space telescope has discovered 10 previously unknown alien planets, including two Neptune-like objects that circle the same star, researchers announced.
France's CoRoT satellite detected the 10 alien planets , all of which are gaseous like Saturn or Jupiter. However, they exhibit a range of masses, densities, orbital characteristics and other properties, researchers said. The new discoveries highlight the diversity of worlds beyond our solar system and boost the confirmed count of extrasolar planets up to 565, they added.
"Ever since the early days of exoplanet astronomy, we’ve been amazed by the variety of planets that have been discovered: gaseous giants larger than Jupiter and smaller, rocky bodies, down to masses comparable to the Earth’s," said Malcolm Fridlund, the European Space Agency's project scientist for CoRoT, in a statement. [ Photos: The Strangest Alien Planets ]
Researchers announced the findings June 14 at the Second CoRoT Symposium in Marseille, France.
Alien planet haul Like NASA's Kepler Space Telescope , CoRoT searches for alien planets by what is known as the transit method. This technique looks for tiny dips in a star's brightness that could potentially be caused by a planet passing in front of it from our perspective.
The 10 newly discovered alien worlds have all been confirmed by follow-up observations using ground-based telescopes. Seven of the discoveries are so-called "hot Jupiters," gas giants that orbit extremely close to their parent stars. Another one is smaller than Saturn, and the other two are Neptune-like siblings circling the same star.
While all the newfound alien planets are gaseous, they make up a diverse group. Their densities, for example, span a wide range, from values similar to that of Saturn (the least dense planet in our solar system) to densities comparable to that of rocky Mars, researchers said.
Since the first planet beyond our solar system was discovered back in the 1990s, astronomers have discovered an astonishing diversity of alien worlds ."The new set of 10 planets that we announce today are no exception, exhibiting as they do a rich list of very interesting properties," Fridlund said.
To date, astronomers have confirmed at least 565 alien planets, and the Kepler project has already identified 1,235 more "candidate" planets that await in-depth follow-up study. Researchers have predicted that at least 80 percent of Kepler's planetary candidates will eventually be confirmed.
What Are Planets - News
A European space telescope has discovered 10 previously unknown alien planets, including two Neptune-like objects that circle the same star, researchers announced. France's CoRoT satellite detected the 10 alien planets, all of which are gaseous like
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What are the odds of all nine planets orbiting the sun in the same ...
The fact that all the planets orbit the sun in the same direction supportd the nebular hypothesis. Imagine that there is a diffrent hypothesis in which planets can be created orbiting the sun in either direction. Using this hypothesis what is the probility that all nine planets would end up traveling in the same direction?
Best answer:
Answer by Stephen Y
You mean, if direction was entirely random?
In 2 dimensions (if the planets were still all on the same plane), it is the same as a heads-or-tails exercise.
If there is only one planet, then the probability that all planets turn the same way is 100% ( or 1.0, as they say in statistics).
If there are two planets, the second either turns the same way as the first, or it goes the other way. P = 0.5 = 1/2
If there are three planets, you have to have the first two going the same way (0.5) AND the third one going the same way as the other two (0.5) (You do it for nine, now that you have the recipe).
If you have any orbital plane (meaning, you are doing the problem in 3-dimensions), then even two planets become an exercise in definition: what would you consider two planets going the same way? Does a difference in inclination of 1 degree make them different? If so, then our own solar system will not meet your definition.
But nevermind the fact that they orbit the sun in the same direction, why does one of them rotate on its axis the “wrong” way compared to the others. Stand on any planet in the solar system and the sun will always rise in the east and set in the west. Except on Venus. So even though its orbit is in the same direction, why is its rotation different?
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what?RT Man I swear the planets are aligning or something kuz some weird shit that ain't gonna happen again is going on!!
What kind of rockets/energy will we need to travel to planets which are light-years away? 
Okay what planets are you hovering around ? lmao
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