Reasons to Believe

Extrasolar Planets

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  • Volcanism and Plate Tectonics on Earthlike Planets

    Sep 20 2009 4:00 PM

    For advanced life to be possible, the planet's surface must possess both landmasses and oceans. Both features must cover a large fraction of the planet's surface (see here) and must do so continuously … more

  • Finding Oceans and Continents and Extrasolar Planets

    Sep 6 2009 4:00 PM

    The quest to find an Earth-like planet capable of supporting advanced life will not be fulfilled simply by discovering a planet approximating the mass of Earth that orbits its star at a distance that … more

  • Debris Disks and Planets Show Solar System Design

    Aug 30 2009 4:00 PM

    Analysis of objects orbiting stars has provided evidence for the supernatural design of our solar system.

    Nearly every young stellar object that is in or adjacent to the spiral arms of the Milky Way … more

  • Suicidal Planet Seems on Death Spiral into Star

    Aug 28 2009 8:00 AM

    Source: Yahoo! News, AP Science, "Suicidal Planet Seems on Death Spiral into Star," by Seth Borenstein, August 26, 2009; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090826/ap_on_sc/us_sci_suicidal_planet_1 more

  • The Tidal Habitable Zones

    Aug 9 2009 4:00 PM

    Habitable zones support an important line of evidence for the supernatural design of life-friendly planets. Two such locations include the water and the ultraviolet radiation habitable zones. A planet … more

  • How Unlikely Is Our Planetary System?

    Aug 2 2009 4:00 PM

    The year 1995 marked the first time astronomers discovered an extrasolar planet.1 It was found orbiting the star 51 Pegasi. Today, scientists know of more than 350 planets residing outside the solar … more

  • Through the Lens: Astronomy, "Habitable Zones" (High Definition)

    Jun 13 2009 3:00 AM

    Video Url: http://c450919.r19.cf2.rackcdn.com/ttl_astronomy_habitablezone.mp4

    Discussion Ideas

    Before watching the video:

    Activity: Research the term "habitable zone." What does it entail? What are the key criteria that scientists consider when classifying a … more

  • A Complete Sample of Extrasolar Planets

    May 24 2009 4:00 PM

    Researchers first detected a star-orbiting planet outside the solar system in 1995.1 It was found orbiting the star 51 Pegasi. Today, astronomers know of 347 extrasolar planets. While this is not a … more

  • Lightest known Exoplanet Discovered

    Apr 22 2009 7:35 AM

    Source: Yahoo! News, "Lightest known Exoplanet Discovered" April 21, 2009; http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090421/sc_space/lightestknownexoplanetdiscovered more

  • Earth-Like Planet Found Around Sun-Like Star

    Feb 4 2009 12:45 AM

    Source: Yahoo! News, "Earth-like Planet Found Around Sun-Like Star," February 03, 2009; http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090203/sc_space/earthlikeplanetfoundaroundsunlikestar more

  • Coreless Terrestrial Planets

    Jan 18 2009 4:00 PM

    As I described in last week’s Today’s New Reasons To Believe, two MIT planetary scientists added to the list of these features. Their modeling of the formation history of planets the size … more

  • Rare Solar System Location

    Oct 19 2008 4:00 PM

    The solar system’s current position (in between two nearby exceptionally symmetrical and widely separated spiral arms that are devoid of any significant spurs or feathers) keeps the solar … more

  • Huge Planet Defies Explanation

    Oct 10 2008 12:19 AM

    Source: Yahoo! News, "Huge Planet Defies Explanation," October 6, 2008
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20081006/sc_space/hugeplanetdefiesexplanation more

  • Too Much Sulfur

    Oct 5 2008 4:00 PM

    Sulfur plays a crucial role in life chemistry. This fact became personal for me a year ago when I was diagnosed as sulfur deficient. Many protein functions crucially depend on sulfur. Fortunately, … more

  • Why Jupiter and Saturn Have No Twins

    Sep 28 2008 4:00 PM

    Likewise, the discovery of over 300 extrasolar gas giant planets combined with spacecraft missions to explore the outer solar system is beginning to establish the rare gas giant planet system … more

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