THE PLANET FACTORY

Twenty years ago, the search for planets outside the Solar System was a job restricted to science-fiction writers. Now it's one of t he fastest-growing fields in astronomy with thousands of exoplanets discovered to date, and the number is rising fast.These new-foun d worlds are more alien than anything in fiction. Planets larger than Jupiter with years lasting a week/ others with two suns lighti ng their skies, or with no sun at all. Planets with diamond mantles supporting oceans of tar/ possible Earth-sized worlds with split hemisph...[Read more]