Tuesday, January 7, 2014

ScienceDaily: Stars News

ScienceDaily: Stars News


Newfound planet is Earth-mass but gassy

Posted: 06 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST

An international team of astronomers has discovered the first Earth-mass planet that transits, or crosses in front of, its host star. KOI-314c is the lightest planet to have both its mass and physical size measured. Surprisingly, although the planet weighs the same as Earth, it is 60 percent larger in diameter, meaning that it must have a very thick, gaseous atmosphere.

Newly discovered three-star system could test Einstein's theory of General Relativity

Posted: 06 Jan 2014 06:47 AM PST

A newly discovered system of two white dwarf stars and a superdense pulsar -- all packed within a space smaller than the Earth's orbit around the sun -- is enabling astronomers to probe a range of cosmic mysteries, including the very nature of gravity itself.

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