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Planet finders have spotted another six new extrasolar planets using the Keck
Telescope in Hawaii, bringing the grand total to nearly thirty. The six have
masses ranging from that of Jupiter to six Jupiter masses. Five of the six new
worlds spend much or all of their time in the “habitable zone” around their
parent stars, where the temperatures are suitable for the planet to have liquid
water. They also have eccentric elliptical orbits. One swings from roughly
Mercury’s orbital distance to well beyond that of Mars—a new record for
planetary eccentricity. “That one’s a real wild ride,” says team member Steven
Vogt of the University of California at Santa Cruz.