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Richest Planetary System Discovered With 7 Planets
eldavojohn writes "The European Southern Observatory has announced that with the aid of their 190 HARPS measurements they have found the solar system with the most planets yet. Furthermore they claim 'This remarkable discovery also highlights the fact that we are now entering a new era in exoplanet research: the study of complex planetary systems and not just of individual planets. Studies of planetary motions in the new system reveal complex gravitational interactions between the planets and give us insights into the long-term evolution of the system.' The star is HD 10180, located 127 light-years away in the southern constellation of Hydrus, that boasts at least five planets (with two more expected) that have the equivalent of our own Titius–Bode law (their orbits follow a regular pattern). Their survey of stars also helped reinforce the correlation 'between the mass of a planetary system and the mass and chemical content of its host star. All very massive planetary systems are found around massive and metal-rich stars, while the four lowest-mass systems are found around lower-mass and metal-poor stars.' While we won't be making a 127 light-year journey anytime soon, the list of candidates for systems of interest grows longer."
you might want to keep in mind that 127 light years is a very long way--an almost unimaginable distance, in fact.
Something an old American would say. Everyone without gray knows very well how geosync is about half a second away or about a second roundtrip. 127 lightyears is 127 years at lightspeed. As the old saying goes, in the USA people think 127 years is a long time ago, whereas in Europe they think .... blah blah blah.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
GOP leaders are now holding a summit to determine what free-market principals were at work at HD 10180.
Teabaggers were last seen attempting to determine if Best Buy had HD 10180 tvs still in stock.