'Hot Jupiter' Systems may Harbor Earth-like Planets

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Final results of three planet formation simulations compared to the Solar system. The radius of the terrestrial planets scales as the cube root of their mass and the color represents their total water content according to the scale shown. The habitab ...
Final results of three planet formation simulations, compared to the Solar system. The radius of the terrestrial planets scales as the cube root of their mass, and the color represents their total water content according to the scale shown. The habitable zone is drawn in grey, and the short lines under the planets indicate the radial range of their orbits. The positions of gas giants are given by the grey circles, which are not to the same scale as the rocky planets.
The catalogue of confirmed extrasolar planets ('exoplanets') is growing rapidly. There are currently approximately 133 known planetary systems, harboring a total of 156 exoplanets as of January 2006*. With regard to the search for life-sustaining worlds, however, the results have been disappointing. Most of the exoplanets identified so far are so-called "hot Jupiters", gas giants in a stable orbit very close to their star. Stellar systems with a hot Jupiter were once thought to be incapable of forming Earth-like planets, but suprising new evidence indicates otherwise.


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