Astronomers discover new solar system

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Astronomers hunting for solar systems beyond our own have discovered a remarkable new one in which three planets, roughly the size of Neptune, are circling a nearby sunlike star, which is surrounded apparently by a dense belt of asteroids.
The inner two planets appear to be made mainly of rock -- like Earth -- while the third may have an envelope of gas around a core of rock and ice, the astronomers say.
None is likely to harbor life, although the outermost planet lies within what astronomers call the "habitable zone." The habitable zone in our solar system is where conditions of temperature and light have made life possible on Earth.
The discovery, exploiting an extremely precise new measuring system, suggests that many more relatively small planets should soon be detectable around other stars in the Milky Way galaxy, astronomers say.
"This is indeed a fascinating discovery," said Harvard astronomer David Charbonneau in an e-mail. Charbonneau leads another team of exoplanet hunters, and in a commentary published Thursday in the journal Nature, he noted that "exquisite" measurements by the Geneva group "suggest that the search for habitable planets might be easier than assumed." Reflecting the fascination of all his colleagues, Charbonneau added, "The architecture of this particular planetary system bears some intriguing similarities to that of our own solar system."