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Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: New Mini-Planet Found; "Shot in the Arm" for ET Search


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The newfound planet MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb is illustrated orbiting a low-mass star. In this artist's depiction, the star is assumed to have a mass of 9 percent of that of our sun, which would make the star a red dwarf.

The discovery of the planet around such a star increases chances of finding life-sustaining worlds, astronomers say.

Illustration courtesy NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program