New Model Helps Predict Earth-Sized Planets

Posted by timothy on Saturday February 21, 2004 @02:35AM from the colonization-time dept.

look over yonder writes "A new computer model created by astronomers from the Smithsonian Center and Astrophysics and the University of Utah predicts that systems which harbour Earth-sized planets will have a fingerprint of a ring of dust orbiting the star. This model will make it much easier for astronomers to locate stars and predict the size of planets orbiting it by simply measuring how bright the star system is at infrared (IR) wavelengths of light. Stars with dusty disks are brighter in the IR than stars without disks. The more dust a star system holds, the brighter it is in the IR."

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Hum... by Nimloth · 2004-02-21 04:23 · Score: 4, Funny

I wouldn't have thought models would be any good at science...
Re:Does it predict us? by Patrik_AKA_RedX · 2004-02-21 05:19 · Score: 3, Funny

hmmm, depends on how many monitors there are in the solar system.
Re:Absorption/re-emission? by Pumpernickle · 2004-02-21 09:55 · Score: 3, Funny

I'm not sure how useful this is going to be in locating habitable planets; getting to them long before the intense bombardment phase has stopped isn't going to make for good colonization prospects.
They're just planning ahead for when they think they'll have a working interstellar space program. By then, it will be easier to meet the non-earthlings halfway, too. :)