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Large exo-planets have a sweet spot

Jupiter-like Exoplanets Found in Sweet Spot in Most Planetary Systems

It has been discovered that large, Jupiter-like gas giants are positioned in similar positions in any solar system. That means that large exo-planets have a sweet spot. Centered around the orbit where Jupiter sits today in our own solar system is almost exactly where similar exoplanets occur in other solar systems. The location of this sweet spot is between 3 and 10 times the distance Earth sits from our sun (3-10 astronomical units, or AU). Jupiter is 5.2 AU from our sun. This was discovered through an unprecedented analysis of 300 stars captured by the Gemini Planet Imager, or GPI, a sensitive infrared detector mounted on the 8-meter Gemini South telescope in Chile.

Eugene Chiang, a University of California, Berkeley professor of astronomy and member of the collaboration’s theory group said this is a milestone because it’s the most comprehensive analysis in this field.

 

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