by Playfuls Staff |
26th January 2007
Researchers at the University of Florida have discovered what appears to be an asteroid belt orbiting a star 70 [more] light years from Earth.
Margaret Moerchen, a graduate student, and Charles Telesco, an astronomy professor, told the Gainesville Sun the find is evidence for rocky planets like Earth orbiting other suns. In this case, the sun is Zeta Leporis, a star much younger than the sun.
Moerchen and Telesco used a camera mounted on a telescope in the Andes Mountains in Chile to detect heat from dust orbiting the star. They report on their findings in the Feb. 1 issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters.
"There's a little bit of luck involved, and it happened to be a good night of weather," Moerchen said.
The asteroid belt would be the smallest one ever discovered outside the solar system if it proves to be genuine.
© 2007 UPI
