Posted on 03/01/2006 4:04:23 PM PST by KevinDavis
8:48 a.m., Feb. 28, 2006--A University of Delaware scientist has received a three-year, $241,000 grant from the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) to study a developing planetary system about 180 light-years from Earth.
John E. Gizis, UD assistant professor of physics and astronomy, was awarded the grant through NASA's Origins of Solar Systems program, which supports scientific investigations related to understanding the formation and early evolution of planetary systems, and to provide the fundamental research and analysis necessary to detect and characterize other planetary systems.
The research also supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploration program, a long-term plan to return astronauts to the moon and extend exploration to Mars and beyond.
Gizis said he is “very excited” about the funding, which will support the study of a particular planetary system that consists of a brown dwarf about three percent of the mass of the Sun and also a small planet. Brown dwarfs are gaseous masses that are essentially failed stars.
(Excerpt) Read more at udel.edu ...
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