Our field is very focused on finding Earth 2.0, and anything we can do to narrow the search is helpful. Debra Fischer Read Quote
55 Cancri is extraordinarily rich in heavy elements and extraordinarily efficient at making planets – much more so than our sun – and those elements are the very ones you need to make planets that aren’t just gas giants. Debra Fischer Read Quote
Computers can’t find the unexpected, but people can when they eyeball the data. Debra Fischer Read Quote
Whether a star has planetary companions or not is a condition of its birth. Those with a larger initial allotment of metals have an advantage over those without. Debra Fischer Read Quote
We now know that stars which are abundant in heavy metals are five times more likely to harbor orbiting planets than are stars deficient in metals. Debra Fischer Read Quote
Ultimately, what we’re looking for in the long run is to find other Earth-like planets. Debra Fischer Read Quote
It now seems logical that all the stars, like our own sun, must have formed with a system of planets around them. Debra Fischer Read Quote
Before 1995, the only planets we knew about were the planets in our solar system. Debra Fischer Read Quote
Because Alpha Centauri is so close, it is our first stop outside our solar system. There’s almost certain to be small, rocky planets around Alpha Centauri A and B. Debra Fischer Read Quote