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Breaking: Discovery of ‘Habitable’ Earth-Like Planet Announced
observer.com ^
| 07/23/15 12:20pm
| Robin Seemangal
Posted on 07/23/2015 11:38:14 AM PDT by ckilmer
Breaking: Discovery of ‘Habitable’ Earth-Like Planet Announced
The Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute and planet hunters from The National Aeronautics and Space Administration have made a startling discovery while exploring the Milky Way Galaxy
Artist’s concept depicts the earth-like planet Kepler-452b (NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle)
The SETI Institute and NASA have confirmed the discovery of Kepler 452b, the most Earth-like planet ever encountered. Located in the Goldilocks zone of its host star, this planet would have “just the right” conditions to support liquid water and possibly even life. This extraordinary world was spotted by the Kepler Space Telescope and is the first confirmed planet among over 500 potential candidates being added to the mission’s catalogue.
“Kepler 452b takes us one step closer to understanding how many habitable planets are out there,” said Joseph Twicken, SETI’s lead scientific programmer for the Kepler mission.
The planet is 1,400 light-years away from our Solar System and orbits a star astronomers call our Sun’s cousin. While this star is four percent more massive and ten percent brighter, the distance between it and Kepler 452b is approximately the same as Earth’s distance from the Sun. The planet itself has a radius 60 percent larger than Earth and is suspected to be rocky, with a thick atmosphere and a significant amount of water.
Kepler 452b’s host star is 1.5 billion years older than ours, and will give scientists a glimpse into how the Sun’s age will eventually affect Earth. “The increasing energy from its aging sun might be heating the surface and evaporating any oceans. The water vapor would be lost from the planet forever,” said Doug Caldwell, a SETI scientist assigned to the Kepler mission. “Kepler 452b could be experiencing now what the Earth will undergo more than a billion years from now, as the Sun ages and grows brighter.”
Artist impression of the surface of the Earth-like Kepler 452b (Photo: SETI Institute)
Launched nine years ago, The Kepler Space Telescope identifies possible planets by using the ‘transit method’ of observing the periodically dimming light of the stars in its trajectory. We know definitively that there are three types of exoplanets littering the galaxy: ice giants, gas giants and hot super-Earths. The Kepler mission’s challenge is to find terrestrial planets that are one half to two times the size of Earth. The ultimate goal is to determine the percentage of the hundreds of billions of stars that might be home to such a world.
Kepler has already identified more than 1,000 exoplanets since the beginning of its journey, by measuring the depth of the ‘transit’ and the size of their stars. A planet’s average temperature can be calculated using the distance of the orbit and the temperature of the star. This is the determining measurement when classifying an exoplanet as habitable. Before today’s announcement, the two most Earth-like planets discovered were Kepler 438b and Kepler 442b, which are larger than Earth and orbit red dwarfs—stars that are significantly cooler than the Sun.
“Exoplanets, especially small Earth-size worlds, belonged within the realm of science fiction just 21 years ago. Today, and thousands of discoveries later, astronomers are on the cusp of finding something people have dreamed about for thousands of years — another Earth,” teased NASA prior to today’s press conference.
Robin Seemangal focuses on NASA and advocacy for space exploration. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, where he currently resides. Find him on Instagram for more space-related content: @not_gatsby
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: exoplanet; nasa; seti; xplanets
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To: Mechanicos
“Bad Science: There are over 100 unique conditions for life on earth. They like to take just 3 of 4 and imply its the equivalent of earth...”
As I read the article the scientist said to the effect that it was probably devoid of life and water.
To: exnavy
Oh, we can see it. We just can’t get there from here.....................
22
posted on
07/23/2015 11:53:22 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Man builds a ship in a bottle. God builds a universe in the palm of His hand.............)
To: SkyDancer
Blasted into space from their sun’s radiation over millenia.....................
23
posted on
07/23/2015 11:54:21 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Man builds a ship in a bottle. God builds a universe in the palm of His hand.............)
To: ckilmer
Wow! What an amazing coincidence, the Kepler spacecraft found the only “habitable” planet, Kepler 452-b!
24
posted on
07/23/2015 11:54:26 AM PDT
by
zipper
(In their heart of hearts, all Democrats are communists)
To: ckilmer
Has the Senate begun meetings yet to pass pertinent laws to prevent human caused glowbull warming on these planets yet?
25
posted on
07/23/2015 11:54:55 AM PDT
by
EGPWS
(Trust in God, question everyone else)
To: ckilmer
Artist impression of the surface of the Earth-like Kepler 452b
might as well have added cities and flying cars
26
posted on
07/23/2015 11:55:57 AM PDT
by
MrB
(The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
To: Red Badger
1400 light years? Time to pack up and head there in the Hyundai. B-)
27
posted on
07/23/2015 11:56:09 AM PDT
by
Nowhere Man
("I wish we were back in the world of Andy Williams." - My mother, 1938-2013, RIP)
To: ckilmer
I know who we can send! Doesn’t everyone...?
28
posted on
07/23/2015 11:56:13 AM PDT
by
BigEdLB
(They need to target the 'Ministry of Virtue' which has nothing to do with virtue.)
To: Red Badger
I would have thought the gravitational pull would keep the vapor around the planet.
29
posted on
07/23/2015 11:56:26 AM PDT
by
SkyDancer
("Help Me Dad" Kathryn Steinle shot and killed by a five-time deported illegal.)
To: BlueLancer
Exactly mount that on a ship.
Seeds, spores, bacteria, anything that might be needed to help the planet become hospital for man.
30
posted on
07/23/2015 11:56:30 AM PDT
by
DannyTN
To: Nowhere Man
Unfortunately the Speed of Light severely limits the transition time.......................
31
posted on
07/23/2015 11:57:00 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Man builds a ship in a bottle. God builds a universe in the palm of His hand.............)
To: DannyTN
Send a seed ship.
32
posted on
07/23/2015 11:57:24 AM PDT
by
Iron Munro
(We may be paranoid but that doesn't mean they aren't really after us)
To: SkyDancer
33
posted on
07/23/2015 11:59:56 AM PDT
by
Red Badger
(Man builds a ship in a bottle. God builds a universe in the palm of His hand.............)
To: brownsfan
“1,400 light years away? Ok, its mildly interesting, but its not breaking, its not even useful.”
1,400 (light) years...
NASA muslim outreach....
Koran fragment in America reported yesterday to be just about that old....
Pedophile Muhammed right around that time, too.
Might be interesting to Hussein’s unintelligent media whores and “chosen” people....
34
posted on
07/23/2015 12:00:03 PM PDT
by
treetopsandroofs
(Had FDR been GOP, there would have been no World Wars, just "The Great War" and "Roosevelt's Wars".)
To: Iron Munro
Has anyone seen the SS Botany Bay lately....
KHAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
35
posted on
07/23/2015 12:00:12 PM PDT
by
NFHale
(The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
To: ckilmer
There are billions of "habitable" places out there.
Give me more funding and I'll keep repeating that statement.
To: ckilmer
The planet is 1,400 light-years away from our Solar System and orbits a star astronomers call our Suns cousin Hmm lets send Sheila Jackson Lee. Send her at voyager speed (39,000 mph) she should get there in about 24 million years.
37
posted on
07/23/2015 12:02:26 PM PDT
by
from occupied ga
(Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
To: Buckeye McFrog
So we're worried about minute increases in carbon dioxide WHY again? Cause the Sun don't cause no global warmin'. Didn't you get the memo?
38
posted on
07/23/2015 12:02:40 PM PDT
by
rjsimmon
(The Tree of Liberty Thirsts)
To: ckilmer
The most “Earth-like” planet ever discovered is almost exactly the same size and mass as Earth and orbits at the edge of the “habitable zone” of an identical star.
It is called the planet Venus.
I strongly suspect that most “Earth-like” exoplanets are actually far more “Venus-like.”
Size, mass and orbit in the “habitable zone” of a star are only three of an infinite number of factors that have to all coincide for a planet to be even potentially habitable for microbes and bacteria. Other big factors include a solar system containing significant amounts of the full range of heavy elements, a planet with a liquid metal core that generates a significant magnetic field, a relatively large moon to generate tides and block some of the near planet asteroids and comets, large gas giants in the outer solar system blocking most of the rest of the asteroids and comets, no stars going super-nova within 100 light years and spitting out significant amounts of x-rays and cosmic radiation, etc., etc.
39
posted on
07/23/2015 12:03:04 PM PDT
by
Bubba_Leroy
(The Obamanation Continues)
To: Red Badger
“Well as soon as we invent a warp drive, Hyperspace drive, or find some Spice to bend space well have a go..................”
As I watch the United States decline, I am more than pessimistic about mankind’s future. We’ve scaled down our space program, and we’re cranking out generations of lazy, stupid citizens.
It seems to me the only thing humans are really good at is killing each other. The only way we’ll invent some kind of faster than light travel is purely by luck of having an underfunded genius making the discovery.
40
posted on
07/23/2015 12:03:20 PM PDT
by
brownsfan
(Behold, the power of government cheese.)
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