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Look Skywatcher! See 'Tatooine' with binoculars
MSM.com ^ | September 16, 2011 | Mike Wall

Posted on 09/18/2011 8:39:21 PM PDT by Windflier

The alien planet with two suns, as in the "Star Wars" films, will be visible

Scientists have spotted a real-life Tatooine — a world with two suns, like Luke Skywalker's home planet in the "Star Wars" films — and you should be able to see this alien star system, too, using a good pair of binoculars.

Astronomers announced the discovery of the alien planet, called Kepler-16b, Thursday. The Saturn-mass planet orbits a pair of stars known as Kepler-16A and Kepler-16B. Someone on Kepler-16b would see two suns hanging near each other in the sky, just as Luke did on Tatooine.

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; bebop; binarystars; circumbinary; kepler16a; kepler16b; nasa; science; stars; tatooine; xplanets
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To: Bigtigermike

““Mos Eisley spaceport, You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”

Since when is the Democratic National Committee Headquarters called Mos Eisley?


21 posted on 09/18/2011 10:14:24 PM PDT by happyathome
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To: Windflier

Except that Tatoo I and II were nearly identical stars, not the disparate pair depicted in this picture.


22 posted on 09/18/2011 11:35:25 PM PDT by Little Pig (Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici.)
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To: Joe 6-pack
Provided of course that the surface temperatures on Kepler-16b didn't boil away the vitreous humor in the viewer's eyes first.
The planet is outside the habitable zone, and very cold. It is also a gas giant, like Saturn, so there is no where to stand. However,Gas Giants generally have large moons, so someone standing on a moon of that planet will no only see this

But possibly this, as well

23 posted on 09/19/2011 5:49:37 AM PDT by jmcenanly
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To: Bigtigermike
“Mos Eisley spaceport, You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Modeled after Congress.

24 posted on 09/19/2011 5:52:02 AM PDT by COBOL2Java (Obama is the least qualified guy in whatever room he walks into.)
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To: ClearBlueSky
Anyone ever wonder what being ON those other planets would think of our arrogance in naming them?

I wonder what they would call US.

BTW, Mark Twain explores this in his short story "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven," where earth is referred to as "The Wart".

25 posted on 09/19/2011 5:59:41 AM PDT by COBOL2Java (Obama is the least qualified guy in whatever room he walks into.)
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To: Windflier
When I stated that astronomers could not see Kepler-16b through a telescope, I was referring to the planet and not the star. (the star is designated as Kepler-16B, with a capital B, whereas the planet is designated Kepler-16b)

Sorry about the confusion.

26 posted on 09/19/2011 9:07:06 AM PDT by mtg
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To: mtg
When I stated that astronomers could not see Kepler-16b through a telescope, I was referring to the planet and not the star.

And I was just trying to be funny with my dunce response ;-)

I didn't read the article closely enough to see whether the astronomers actually caught a visual glimpse of Kepler-16b, but it should be clear to anyone that no one's going to spot a planet outside of our own solar system with just a pair of binoculars.

27 posted on 09/19/2011 5:22:17 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: KevinDavis; annie laurie; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Mmogamer; ...
This topic was posted 09/18/2011, thanks Windflier.
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Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·
X-Planets

28 posted on 02/28/2022 10:55:41 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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