Sohn, Emily. 2007. A star's belt of dust and rocks. Science News for Kids (Jan. 10). Available at http://sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20070110/Note2.asp .

______. 2004. A very distant planet says "cheese". Science News for Kids (Sept. 22). Available at http://sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20040922/Note2.asp .

ScienceFairZone
Three-Star Systems
Is there a place for habitable planets in a three-star system?
http://sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20041013/ScienceFairZone.asp .

To learn more about the Spitzer Space Telescope, visit www.spitzer.caltech.edu/ (CalTech).

To read about binary stars, check out www.astro.cornell.edu/academics/courses/astro201/binstar.htm (Cornell University).

Books recommended by SearchIt!Science:

Extrasolar Planets — Ron Miller Published by Twenty-First Century Books/Millbrook Press, 2002 Meet many of the scientists who discovered the planets in our solar system and beyond. Explore discoveries and theories about planets from ancient times through the present day. Find out about the hundreds of planets that scientists have discovered recently. Learn how scientists name these new worlds and how they classify stars. Why do some planets not have suns? Full-color illustrations represent what these planets might look like. Web pages and a bibliography provide opportunities for research.

Faraway Worlds: Planets Beyond Our Solar System — Paul Halpern Published by Charlesbridge Publishing, 2004 Scientists have already discovered more than 100 planets in faraway solar systems—and they continue looking each night. But how do planet hunters discover these extrasolar worlds, since planets are tiny compared with stars and don't shine with their own visible light? With helpful metaphors, a simple text, and color diagrams, this book explains how astronomers use clues such as wobbling stars to locate new planets. The book also describes some of the planets that scientists have already discovered and discusses what it might be like to live on some of these extrasolar worlds. Brilliant artist's renditions of the planets accompany the text, which ends with a note about painting extrasolar worlds as well as a glossary and an index.

Stars, Clusters, and Galaxies (The Young Stargazer's Guide to the Galaxy) — John R. Gustafson Published by Simon & Schuster, 1992 When you look at the night sky, almost every point of light that you see is created by a star that is similar to our sun. But, as astronomers have discovered, most stars don't shimmer alone. They have a companion star nearby. With color photographs (some taken from space), diagrams, and drawings, this book explains the groupings of stars. Star clusters (formed when hundreds of thousands of stars are grouped), nebulae (clouds of particles of star materials), and galaxies (groups of millions of stars) are explored and defined. "Try This" sections include activities for exploring stars. See the effects of light pollution, build a constellation, or spot some double stars. Hints for sky gazing, information on the constellations, and a bit about the history of astronomy are featured. An index is included.

binary star Two stars that form a pair and revolve around the same central point. Binary stars are held together by gravity and they often look like a single star when seen without a telescope.

infrared light Electromagnetic radiation that is invisible and has wavelengths that are longer than those of visible light but shorter than those of microwaves. All objects absorb and give off infrared light.

orbit The path of an object as it circles around another object in outer space. The Earth makes an orbit around the sun.

planet An object in outer space that moves around a star, such as the sun, and that is larger than an asteroid. A planet does not produce its own light but shines because it reflects the light of the star that it moves around.

sun A star that is the center of system of planets.