December 10, 2007

Are Terrestrial Planets Common?

Evolution of Mid-IR Excess Around Sun-like Stars: Constraints on Models of Terrestrial Planet Formation

"We report observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) regarding the frequency of 24 micron excess emission toward sun-like stars. Our unbiased sample is comprised of 309 stars with masses 0.7-2.2 Msun and ages from <3 Myr to >3 Gyr that lack excess emission at wavelengths <=8 microns. The results suggest that many, perhaps most, sun-like stars might form terrestrial planets."


Posted by kcowing at December 10, 2007 12:49 AM

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