Press Release 08-093 Small Planet, Small Star Newly discovered
extrasolar planet is the smallest known and has smallest host
star June 2, 2008 Astronomers have discovered an extrasolar
planet only three times more massive than our own, the smallest
yet observed orbiting a normal star. The star itself is not
large, perhaps as little as one twentieth the mass of our Sun,
suggesting to the research team that relatively common low-mass
stars may present good candidates for hosting Earth-like
planets. Led by David Bennett of the University of Notre Dame,
the international research team presents its findings in a press
conference Monday, June 2, 2008, at 11:30 a.m. CDT at the
American Astronomical Society Meeting in St. Louis, Mo. "Our
discovery indicates that that even the lowest mass stars can
host planets," says Bennett. "No planets have previously been
found to orbit stars with masses less than about 20 percent that
of the Sun, but this finding indicates that even the smallest
stars can host planets." The astro