Stellar Simulations: searching for habitable planets October 9, 2007

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Google Tech talks
July 30, 2007

ABSTRACT

Looking for a nice extra-solar vacation spot but worried about being downwind from a gas giant? Before booking your next interstellar flight, come check out how Sean Raymond's stellar simulations are being used in the search for habitable planets.

Many of the 240 extra-solar planets that have been discovered so far are "hot Jupiters" -- gas giants orbiting very close to their host stars. Sean's work has shown that when these hot Jupiters form far from their host stars and migrate inward, they leave conditions in their wake favorable for the formation of a wide diversity of habitable planets, from small dry worlds to massive ocean-covered planets.

In...