XPost: sci.astro.amateur   
   From: news-x@lazyeyedpsycho.cjb.dot.net.retro.com   
      
    wrote in message   
   news:1119186784.460889.221040@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...   
   >   
   >   
   > cmwmjt@netspace.net.au wrote:   
   >> Out of curiousity in regards to the search for Extrasolar planets, why   
   >> are planet hunters studying worlds hundreds of light years away when we   
   >> have several star systems in our own back yard that don't seem to get   
   >> much attention, and in theory wouldn't their closer proximity make them   
   >> easier to search for and study possible planets?   
   >   
   > Food for thought: at this point in extra-solar planet finding   
   > technology, astronomers could not detect the planets of the Solar   
   > System if the astronomers were in Alpha Centauri.   
   >   
   > Basically, being close does not make it easier to spot planets. The   
   > methods currently being used to find extra-solar planets require   
   > certain rare sets of circumstances. The planets have to fall into the   
   > following categories (roughly speaking):   
   >   
   > 1) Big and close to a star, so the wobble on the star is obvious   
   > 2) Pass between the star and Earth, so the slight dimming effect is   
   > noticeable.   
   >   
   > That's not the complete story, but planets that meet those conditions   
   > (especially the first) are currently easiest to find, AFAIK. Nearby   
   > solar systems generally don't have those conditions.   
      
   So you're saying they have looked for planets there, but found none?   
      
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