The Sky Is The Limit
International teams from the University of Hertfordshire in ground-breaking astronomy research
Tau Ceti is a star very similar to our sun, which has been known to us for many years now. A team of international astronomers at the University of Hertfordshire, including Mikko Tuomi, Hugh Jones and James Jenkins, have now discovered that it may also host 5 planets, one of which is within the habitable zone of the star.
James Jenkins said: 'Tau Ceti is one of our nearest cosmic neighbours and so bright that we may be able to study the atmospheres of these planets in the not too distant future. Planetary systems found around nearby stars close to our sun indicate that these systems are common in our Milky Way galaxy.'
This opens up an interesting discussion as to how many other stars may host planets of this kind. Something to think about…
In addition to this, Marc Sarzi from the University’s Centre for Astrophysics Research has been part of an international team of astronomers looking at supermassive black holes. The team has discovered a new technique in measuring the mass of black holes through the measurement in speed of the gas carbon monoxide, which orbit these black holes in galaxies.
Marc Sarzi said that: 'With this new technique, we have been able to show that we can measure black hole masses much further out in the universe, which will help understanding the role that supermassive black holes played during the formation of galaxies.'
Research suggests that black holes and galaxies are very closely linked and as galaxies are very commonly studied within astrophysics, this exciting new discovery could have significant impact on future research.