OMG, the surprise! Scientists Spot an Earth-Size Planet 500 Light-Years Away

Scientists Spot an Earth-Size Planet 500 Light-Years Away

 

Scientists searching for another Earth-like planet beyond our solar system announced a major breakthrough this week: NASA’s powerful Kepler telescope has detected a planet that appears to be roughly the same size as Earth, with temperatures moderate enough to potentially support life. Dubbed Kepler 186f, the planet is one of five found to be circling a red dwarf star located in the constellation Cygnus, some 500 light-years away from Earth.

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Launched in March 2009, the Kepler space-based telescope completed its initial mission in late 2012, after which NASA officials quickly approved a three-year extension. By aiming a 95-megapixel camera at a small patch of sky, the telescope monitored the light from 160,000 stars (out of some 4.5 million detectable), seeking the slight dimming that occurs when a planet passes in front of a star. Using this technique–known as the transit method–the Kepler mission has so far discovered more than 950 confirmed planets.

The latest findings using Kepler data, reported this week in a scientific paper published in the journal Science, are some of the most remarkable yet. Out of five planets circling Kepler 186, a red dwarf star about half the size of the Sun located in the constellation Cygnus, four are orbiting extremely close to the parent star, making temperatures too hot for liquid water to flow at their surfaces. The outermost planet, however, is inside the so-called “Goldilocks zone,” where temperatures are moderate enough to sustain liquid water rather than ice or vapor at the surface–a necessary requirement for supporting life as we know it.

 

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