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              New Method of Finding Planets Scores First Discovery

   Astronomers have found a new exoplanet for the first time using a
   method that relies on physicist Albert Einstein`s special theory of
   relativity. These distant worlds are usually discovered by looking for
   stars that wobble or that dim, and identifying the orbiting planets
   that cause those effects.
   The newly-discovered planet - formally known as Kepler-76b - was
   detected from three small effects that occur simultaneously as it
   orbits its star. One is subtle changes in the star`s brightness as the
   planet`s gravitational field causes shifts in the speed and direction
   of its light, as seen from Earth. This is known as Einstein`s "beaming"
   effect.
   The scientists at Tel Aviv University and the Harvard Smithsonian
   Center for Astrophysics also looked for signs the star was physically
   deformed by the planet`s gravitational tides, and for reflected
   starlight from the planet itself.
   Kepler-76b is about 25 percent larger than Jupiter and it weighs twice
   as much. It is located about 2,000 light-years from Earth in the
   constellation Cygnus.
   The new planet-hunting technique cannot find Earth-sized worlds with
   current technology, but Avi Loeb, who first proposed the method, says
   it adds to astronomers` arsenal as they continue to scour the cosmos
   for planets that might support life as we know it.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/new-method-of-finding-planets-scores-
   first-discovery/1660802.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/new-method-of-finding-planets-scores-first-discovery/1660802.html