Kiwi mum helps find new solar system 

A Kiwi mum has been involved in the discovery of a solar system that closely resembles our own. 

The new solar system, described in the latest issue of the journal Science, has two planets of similar size and orbit to Jupiter and Saturn.

A team of around 80 astronomers from 11 countries used a technique called micro-lensing to spot the planets.
 
Operating from her home in Auckland, Jenny McCormick used her small private observatory to participate in the international research. 

"I work from home in our home-built observatory," McCormick told reporters. "It is quite useful. It is very easy to get on collecting data, cooking dinner and ironing clothes."

She says the telescope is all remote controlled

"I basically set it up going at night, get my dinner and keep monitoring what's going on with the telescope an the equipment from my bedroom office basically," McCormick says.

"Although the parent star of this planet is much dimmer than our sun, temperatures at both planets are likely to be similar to those of our Jupiter and Saturn, and that's just because they are cloer to their star so they are a scaled down version of our very own solar system."
 
Most of the other 250 or so planets that have been discovered have been detected using radio.  
      
But this is the first time micro-lensing has been used to find two planets orbiting a single star.

Auckland Stardome Observatory astronomer Dr Grant Christie is also part of the international team who have contributed to the find.

He says the two planets are orbiting a red dwarf star 5,000 light years away.

Christie says the discovery shows we are not alone and certainly raises the possibility that systems exist similar to ours that could sustain advanced life forms.