First Planets Found Around Sun-Like Stars in a Cluster
WASHINGTON — NASA-funded astronomers have, for the first time,
spotted planets orbiting sun-like stars in a crowded cluster of
stars. The findings offer the best evidence yet planets can
sprout up in dense stellar environments. Although the newfound
planets are not habitable, their skies would be starrier than
what we see from Earth. The starry-skied planets are two so-
called hot Jupiters, which are massive, gaseous orbs that are
boiling hot because they orbit tightly around their parent
stars. Each hot Jupiter circles a different sun-like star in the
Beehive Cluster, also called the Praesepe, a collection of
roughly 1,000 stars that appear to be swarming around a common
center. The Beehive is an open cluster, or a grouping of stars
born at about the same time and out of the same giant cloud of
material. As such, the stars share a similar chemical
composition. Unlike the majority of stars, which spread out
shortly after birth, these young stars remain loo