Two planets just bigger than Saturn were found orbiting stars in the constellation of the Sail and in the constellation of the Cross. Three planets larger than Jupiter were detected orbiting other stars. Three other stars were found by astronomers from the University of California at Berkeley and at the University of Texas at Austin. The Berkeley team discovered the second planetary system. Previously only the star Upsilon Andromidae was known to have a planetary system.
Initial indications are that such systems are relatively common.
The team conducted a survey of twelve stars known to have planets and found that five of them showed signs of being orbited by another planet. The University of Texas team found a planet similar in size to Jupiter about 10.5 light years away from Earth orbiting the star Epsilon Eridani, a star very similar to the sun. The planet is so close it may be directly observable with space telescopes such as the Hubble. This is important as it leaves space for smaller Earth-sized planets in between, which would be more suitable sites for the evolution of life than the gas giants already found. Astronomers think that Jupiter played an important role in stabilising conditions on the rocky planets in the early periods of the formation of the solar system.