Planets Around Sun-Like Stars
Do many Sun -like stars have planets? Speculation on this point has been ongoing since humanity's realization that other stars existed . Only in the past year, however, have answers and discoveries been realized. The above plot summarizes the four known cases of normal stars having planets. These cases are: our Solar System , 51 Pegasi , 70 Virgini , and 47 Ursae Majoris . The later two cases were discovered by astronomers led by Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler as part of a greater project inspecting 120 stars for orbiting planets. Interestingly enough, the planets around the later two stars have temperatures in the right range to allow liquid water - and hence may have conditions ripe for the development of life .