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Extrasolar planets

Astrophysical false positives

The probability that giant-planet-like signals detected by the Kepler spacecraft are not from planets is higher than expected. The result underscores the importance of making follow-up observations to confirm the nature of the signals.

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Figure 1: Mimicking a planetary transit.

References

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Correspondence to Andrew Collier Cameron.

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Cameron, A. Astrophysical false positives. Nature 492, 48–49 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/492048a

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