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Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Record-Setting Fifth Planet Found Orbiting Nearby Star


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A still from an animation shows the nearly circular orbits of the five planets around a nearby star called 55 Cancri.

Astronomers recently found the fifth planet, which orbits in the star's habitable zone (shown in green), making this the first known quintuple planetary system.

Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech