Perhaps, therefore, it is time to change the convention and give such a name to an extrasolar planet.
ECONOMIST: Time to start giving extrasolar planets proper names
And its resolving power will help with the search for extrasolar planets.
The latest project to involve them, called Planet Hunters, allows amateurs to search for extrasolar planets those that orbit stars other than the sun.
ECONOMIST: Amateur astronomers join the ranks of the planet hunters
But existing plans to photograph extrasolar planets in this way involve orbiting arrays of reflecting telescopes all pointing in exactly the same direction.
Measurements from August 25th onwards show a steep drop in the detected volume of cosmic rays from the heliosphere, just as the extrasolar rays are picking up.
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Taken together, the observational and modeling results imply that many extrasolar systems harbor distantly orbiting worlds, though such planets are tough for astronomers to detect at the moment, researchers said.
The new object, whose existence was announced on January 10th at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, in Seattle, is causing excitement because it is the smallest extrasolar planet yet discovered.
ECONOMIST: Time to start giving extrasolar planets proper names
Just over 50 extrasolar planetary systems have so far been discovered and analysis of them shows just how unusual our local system is with its giant planets (Jupiter and Saturn) positioned well away from the Sun.
In February this year Mark Swain of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and his colleagues reported that they had developed a new technique for calibrating data arriving at ordinary ground-based telescopes, allowing them to identify the components of an extrasolar atmosphere.
ECONOMIST: Is it time for a new approach to finding extraterrestrials?
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