It’s
a Rocky
World
This
artist's
concept
shows a
massive
asteroid
belt in
orbit
around a
star the
same age
and size
as our
Sun. The
belt
circles a
faint,
nearby
star
called HD
69830,
located 41
light-years
away in
the
constellation
Puppis.
Evidence
for this
possible
belt was
discovered
by NASA's
Spitzer
Space
Telescope
when it
spotted
warm dust
around the
star,
presumably
from
asteroids
smashing
together.
Compared
to our own
solar
system's
asteroid
belt, this
one is
larger and
closer to
its
star--it
is 25
times as
massive,
and lies
just
inside an
orbit
equivalent
to that of
Venus. |