gpronger's Journal: New Exoplanet Discovered "Like One of Ours"

BBC reports on a "Nature" article regarding a newly discovered "Exoplanet" located roughly 1500 light years from Earth which is the first to be positively identified as a temperate planet. Designated "CoRoT-9b", lead researcher Dr Hans Deeg states; "It is the size of Jupiter and has an orbit similar to Mercury." Dr Deeg, works at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in the Canary Islands.

Unlike other exoplanet discoveries which have mostly been "exotic" in nature, this discovery falls within the models of planets within our own system. Dr Deeg states; "They are either extremely hot, being very close to the central star on short orbits, or they are on eccentric orbits, taking them close to and far from the central star, giving them extreme temperatures."

Dr Deeg explained that although some of the exoplanets previously discovered were thought likely to be temperate it was not possible to confirm that or to find out much information about them.