If there's a line in Vegas on the odds of life on another planet, now might be a good time to -1-. A study in the journal Science examined 166 sun-sized stars and found nearly one in four had rocky, earth-sized planets in close,-2-. The finding might chart a new course for extrasolar planet research. Most planet-formation models predict a “planet desert” within one -3- (or the average distance from the Earth to the sun) of a host star. Gaseous planets like Jupiter or Saturn, which form much farther away, on the cold side of what’s called the “ice line,” are thought to be more common. But a team of researchers at Hawaii's Keck observatory -4- on stars similar to our sun. Twenty-three percent ......The researchers say their discovery calls for substantial revisions to current astronomical models.It also makes the possibility of life on some similar planet spinning a similar, habitable distance from its sun seem like -5-.
【视听版科学小组荣誉出品】
place a wager Earth-like orbits astronomical unit cast their eyes a better bet
寻找“地球号” 如果维加斯有赌桌赌外星球有生命的几率，现在正是下手的好机会。《科学》杂质上的一项研究检测了166个太阳大小的恒星，发现它们附近有近1/4的行星多岩石，地球大小且拥有类地轨道。这一发现可能会开创系外行星研究新标向。 大多数行星形成模型预言在主恒星一个天文单位（或从地球到太阳的平均距离）以内会有一个“沙漠之星”。而像木星或土星这样的远距离气态行星则在普通不过，它们冰冷的一面就是所谓的“冰原带”。 但夏威夷的凯克天文台的一个研究小队却将他们的目光投在了类似太阳的恒星上。23%的行星都很小，多岩石，其绕行轨道正处于预言的“沙漠之星”的活动范围之内。 研究人员表示他们的发现将对现有的天文模型有实质性的改动。对于那些以适合命生存的距离围绕着自己的太阳运行的行星来说，它们上面存在生命的可能性会很大。 —Adam Hinterthuer