Kepler probe

European "Planet Hunter" Launched

The French have launched a 'planet-hunter' telescope called Corot. This telescope will measure fluctuations of light received from stars to detect when planets of 'all sizes' move between the star and the telescope. The article contradicts itself on this point, however. At one point, they state that planets found will be rocky planets "a few times the size of earth". This method of planet hunting is currently used on Earth, however, from earth based telescopes the planets must be very large to detect the drop in light from a star. Researchers believe that they will be able to detect much smaller planets using this method. Let's hope so, I need some elbow room.

Syndicate content