Planets discovered orbiting sun-like stars in a cluster: For the first time, NASA-funded astronomers have spotted planets orbiting sun-like stars in a crowded star cluster. The two newfound planets are boiling hot Jupiter-like gaseous orbs that orbit extremely close to their parent stars.
Each hot Jupiter circles a different sun-like star in the Beehive Cluster, also called the Praesepe. The beehive cluster is a collection of about 1,000 stars that are attracted to a common center. Located about 550 light years away from Earth, the stars are born at about the same time and out of the same giant cloud of material. These young stars remain loosely bound together by mutual gravitational attraction.
