Posted on 12/19/2014 6:12:01 AM PST by Red Badger
NASA's Kepler space telescope is discovering alien planets again.
The prolific spacecraft has spotted its first new alien planet since being hobbled by a malfunction in May 2013, researchers announced Dec. 18. The newly discovered world, called HIP 116454b, is a "super Earth" about 2.5 times larger than our home planet. It lies 180 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Pisces — close enough to be studied by other instruments, scientists said.
"Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Kepler has been reborn and is continuing to make discoveries," study lead author Andrew Vanderburg, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), said in a statement. "Even better, the planet it found is ripe for follow-up studies." [Gallery: A World of Kepler Planets]
Kepler launched in March 2009, on a 3.5-year mission to determine how frequently Earth-like planets occur around the Milky Way galaxy. The spacecraft has been incredibly successful to date, finding nearly 1,000 confirmed planets — more than half of all known alien worlds — along with about 3,200 other "candidates," the vast majority of which should turn out to be the real deal.
The spacecraft finds planets by the "transit method," watching for the telltale dimming caused when a world cross the face of, or transits, its parent star from Kepler's perspective. Such work requires incredibly precise pointing — an ability the spacecraft lost in May 2013, when the second of its four orientation-maintaining reaction wheels failed.
But the Kepler team didn't give up on the spacecraft. They devised a way to increase Kepler's stability by using the subtle pressure of sunlight, then proposed a new mission called K2, which would continue Kepler's exoplanet hunt in a limited fashion and also study other cosmic objects and phenomena, such as active galaxies and supernova explosions.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
This artist's concept shows the first planet discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft during its K2 mission, a "super Earth" called HIP 116454b. The planet has a diameter of 20,000 miles, weighs 12 times as much as Earth and orbits its star once every 9.1 days(David A. Aguilar (CfA))
SPACE & XOPING!..............
It’s like trying to solve arithmetic at a table downrange while everyone is firing projectiles at the speed of light!. Its that bad!
What makes a newly discovered planet an “alien” plantet?
There is no problem with our discovering them, the problem will occur if they discover us and figure out a way to get here.
Remember: they will eat the fat one first.
So some of us should hope the future invasion is only done by health-conscious aliens?
***They devised a way to increase Kepler’s stability by using the subtle pressure of sunlight***
Who are these guys, rocket scientists?!?
Seriously, that is amazing.
Are you suggesting the planet is Alive?
**Remember: they will eat the fat one first.**
Not if they prefer lean meat.
The term, "alien planet," is widely used in the media, probably becasue it suggests a planet with alien life forms on it. That serves to keep the low-information public interested, and the "alien planet" hunting astronomers employed.
I think a better term is “undocumented” or Dreamer planet.
Either way it qualifies for in-state tuition.
Besides now having a primary mission for "muslim outreach", NASA is quietly exploring places to put all the hordes of 0bama illegal aliens, and this planet seems ideal.
/sarc
No, but the environment on the planet is ‘alien’ to known living organisms on Earth. If something could be found alive, though not likely, on this planet, it would truly be ‘alien’ to Earth science......................
It’s Rocket Surgery................
LV426?
Dats a ‘moon’................
I saw that billboard when it was up in SF, one of the funniest sights ever.
“That’s no moon. It’s a space station!”
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