New Zealand researchers participated in the work, published in Nature, which
found that stars in our galaxy have an average of 1.6 planets
orbiting them. The study is the product of the
Probing Lensing Anomalies NETwork (PLANET) collaboration,
involving scientists from a dozen countries.
PLANET Scientists used a phenomena called gravitational
microlensing to detect planets orbiting stars. Microlensing
measures the bending of light that occurs as a star passes behind
another object. Distortions in this light can indicate the presence
of an planet.
The study led the PLANET researchers to conclude, "planets
around stars in our Galaxy thus seem to be the rule rather than the
exception."
--Science Media Centre NZ--
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