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Simon J. Murphy, Senior Lecturer, Astrophysics, University of Southern Queensland

Astronomers have directly detected a massive exoplanet. The method could transform the search for life beyond Earth

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Finding life on other planets might well be the holy grail of astronomy, but the hunt for suitable host planets that can sustain life is a resource-intensive task.

The search for exoplanets (planets outside our Solar System) involves competing for time on Earth’s biggest telescopes – yet the hit rate of this search can be disappointingly low.

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