BBC

A solar system much like our own could be sitting on our cosmic doorstep.

US scientists have found evidence that more than one planet is orbiting a star called 47 Ursae Majoris a mere 50 light years away from Earth.

The planet spotters said they are likely to find signs of even more planets as instruments become more sensitive and sky surveys become more comprehensive.

Now the scientists are pushing for funds to develop new telescopes that do nothing but look for planets orbiting nearby stars.

Near neighbours

A team of top planet hunters said today they have strong evidence that more than one planet is orbiting a star called 47 Ursae Majoris.

The yellow type star is similar to our Sun and was already known to have a huge planet, twice the mass of Jupiter, orbiting it.

Now Debra Fischer and Geoffrey Marcy from the University of California at Berkeley working with Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington have spotted another planet in a more distant orbit around the same star.

"For the first time we have detected two planets in nearly circular orbits around the same star," said Ms Fischer. "Most of the 70 planets people have found to date are in bizarre solar systems, with short periods and eccentric orbits close to the star."

Watch the wobble

The astronomers can't see the planet directly but infer its presence by watching for tiny wobbles in the star at the heart of the target solar system. More sensitive instruments made it possible to detect smaller wobbles and the presence of more planets.

The researchers estimate that the new planet is barely three-quarters the size of Jupiter.

To make their observations the scientists used the three and 0.6 metre telescopes at the University of California's Leck Observatory.

Now the team is pushing for cash to build a telescope that concentrates solely on watching the skies for evidence of more planets.

Significantly Ms Fischer and her colleagues said the new planet could be much further away from the central star and might imply that its solar system is dotted with planets and resembles ours.

"We've found planets in small orbits and wacky eccentric orbits," she said. "With 47Ursae Majoris, it's heartwarming to find a planetary system that finally reminds us of our solar system."

The star 47 Ursae Majoris is one of 100 that Dr Marcy and Dr Butler picked out in 1987 as possible systems supporting extrasolar planets.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

Answers

I love this kind of stuff, when I was in grade school I wanted to be an astronomer...but MoM said that wasn't for girls...well, back then...I did what mom said!

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

Tee-hee--I wanted to be a cop and the headmaster told me I couldn't, I would have to be a police secretary but that would be as much as I could do with the police dept. Funny that I eventually became a legal sec, then a paralegal, now a cop junkie/reporter.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

I wanted to be rich and not have to work.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

You know what would be funny is designing a powerful telescope that allows is to see people on a planet in another solar system, and the first thing we see is an alien with a similar telescope looking back!

LOL

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001

There was a cartoon like that a long time ago.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2001