Friday, October 16, 2026

In the Search for Exoplanets, Some Failures Are A Success

This artist's illustration shows the pair of stars that make up the binary star 70 Ophiuchi AB (70 Oph AB.) The pair is close to Earth, only about 16.7 light years away. Astronomers conducted a search for massive planets in the system in an attempt to find nearby large terrestrial planets. None were found, but in this case, that isn't necessarily a failure. Image Credit: Hans Anderson/Michigan News

Astronomers used decades of archival data and new radial velocity measurements to search for exoplanets around a neaby binary star, 70 Oph AB. They didn't find any, which can seem like a failure. But in this case, their work only ruled out large, Jupiter-mass planets at certain distances. There could still be Earth-sized planets there, and their precise findings will only fuel a deeper search with more powerful telescopes.



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