Rocky worlds discovered orbiting distant star

    The findings were made using images from the Kepler space observatory in research led by astronomers from the University of Arizona. The four-planet system, 181 light years away in the direction of the Aquarius constellation, is orbiting a dwarf star that is smaller and dimmer than our sun, according to the university.
    The planets, with diameters 20 to 50 percent larger than Earth, orbit at a faster clip – it takes them five and a half to 24 days to circle the star. But two of the planets may have irradiation levels similar to those on Earth, and the possibility of life “cannot be ruled out,” the university’s news release explained.
    The star is called an “m-dwarf,” also known as a red dwarf star. Red dwarfs are the most numerous stars in the universe, described in Encyclopedia Britannica as “the smallest type of hydrogen-burning star.” 
    Researchers confirmed the exoplanets using data, along with observations by Earth-based telescopes, high-resolution images and high-resolution spectroscopy. Their work has been published in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.
    The study reported that 57 of the confirmed planets are in multiplanet systems. The Kepler observatory detected the planets by noticing the dimming of light when a planet traveled in front of its star. The authors point out that Kepler has discovered the majority of all known exoplanets.

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