Many Sun-like Stars Can Harbor Earth-like Planets
By measuring the temperature of dust circling nearby Sun-like stars, researchers conclude that rocky bodies are smashing into each other with the potential to aggregate into rocky planets. Steve Mirsky reports from the AAAS conference in Boston.
SUBSCRIBE TO Science Quickly
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Earth-like planets have the potential to form around many—and perhaps most—of the nearest stars that are like our sun. Michael Meyer of the University of Arizona announced that discovery Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Meyer says that between 20 and 60 percent of the stars are candidates for the development of rocky planets.
The researchers used the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope. Meyer explains: “With Spitzer, we detect the heat radiation of dust grains, not unlike the smoke you will see rising from chimneys (around here in the Boston area) on a cold day.” Models say that the observed warm dust is consistent with small rocky bodies smashing into each other. “From those observations of dust, we infer the presence of colliding larger rocky bodies, not unlike asteroids and other things in our solar system that we know bang together and generate dust. By tracing that dust, we trace these dynamical processes that we think led to the formation of the terrestrial planets in our solar system.”
—Steve Mirsky, at the AAAS conference in Boston
60-Second Science is a daily podcast. Subscribe to this Podcast: RSS | iTunes
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
