As part of an international team of exoplanets hunters, astronomers at the UA are developing a technique to detect faint dust clouds around other stars, many of which might hide Earth-like planets.
If one looks only for the shiniest pennies in the fountain, chances are one misses most of the coins because they shimmer less brightly. This, in a nutshell, is the conundrum astronomers face when searching for Earth-like planets outside our solar system.
Astronomers at the University of Arizona are part of an international team of exoplanets hunters developing new technology that would dramatically improve the odds of discovering planets with conditions suitable for life -- such as having liquid water on the surface.
The team presented its results at a scientific conference sponsored by the International Astronomical Union in Victoria, British Columbia.
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