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“Tatooine” discovered by Kepler

Today’s breaking news is that the Kepler team have discovered a planet orbiting two suns, just like the fictional home planet of Luke Skywalker, Tatooine, in Star Wars.


Now we’re all Planet Hunters here, so everyone’s first question is, what does the light curve look like? Look no further, here it is: http://www.planethunters.org/sources/SPH10421275

The full article is online at Science Magazine (subscription required). You can check out the Kepler team’s website about the new planet here and here. Kepler-16, as it is now dubbed, is even more inhospitable than Tatooine – it’s a Saturn-mass gas planet. So unfortunately, no Javas or Cantina band….

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