tagged w/ kepler
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NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the "habitable zone," the region where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Ten of these candidates are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star. Candidates require follow-up observations to verify they are actual planets.
This diagram above compares our own solar system to Kepler-22, a star system containing the first "habitable zone" planet discovered by NASA's Kepler mission. The habitable zone is the sweet spot around a star where temperatures are right for water to exist in its liquid form. Liquid water is essential for life on Earth. Kepler-22's star is a bit smaller than our sun, so its habitable zone is slightly closer in. The diagram shows an artist's rendering of the planet comfortably orbiting within the habitable zone, similar to where Earth circles the sun. Kepler-22b has a yearly orbit of 289 days. The planet is the smallest known to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a sun-like star. It's about 2.4 times the size of Earth.
Image: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-12-kepler-planet-habitable-zone-sun-like.htmlNASA's Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the "habitable... more
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NASA's Kepler space telescope is finding lots and lots of extrasolar planets. But how many might support intelligent life? And, is there a "sweet spot" in the galaxy where SETI astronomers should aim their telescopes?
link:http://news.discovery.com/space/where-do-advanced-civilizations-hang-out-111003.htmlNASA's Kepler space telescope is finding lots and lots of extrasolar planets. But... more
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NASA's Kepler spacecraft is one of the most powerful tools in the hunt for extrasolar planets. The Kepler team's computers are sifting through the data, but we at Planet Hunters are betting that there will be planets which can only be found via the remarkable human ability for pattern recognition.
This is a gamble, a bet if you will, on the ability of humans to beat machines just occasionally. It may be that no new planets are found or that computers have the job down to a fine art. And yet, it's just possible that you might be the first to know that a star somewhere out there in the Milky Way has a companion, just as our Sun does. Fancy giving it a try?
So far only two new planets that slipped through the computers grasps have been found by humans, but with more people taking part more and more will be discovered.
You can join the search at the link, follow a quick tutorial and get searchingNASA's Kepler spacecraft is one of the most powerful tools in the hunt for... more
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8 months ago
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NASA spots smallest planet yet discovered outside sun's solar system
By the CNN Wire Staff
January 10, 2011 4:35 p.m. EST
An artist's depiction of Kepler-10b, which NASA says is too close to its star to maintain liquid water and potential life.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* The object is the first rocky planet discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft
* The discovery has scientists optimistic about what else could be found
* Kepler is capable of finding Earth-size planets in a habitable zone, NASA says
(CNN) -- A NASA spacecraft has detected a rocky planet that is the smallest ever discovered outside our sun's solar system, the agency announced Monday.
The exoplanet -- so named because it orbits a star other than the sun -- has been dubbed Kepler-10b. It measures 1.4 times the Earth's diameter and was confirmed after more than eight months of data collection, the agency said. It is the first rocky, or Earth-like, planet discovered by Kepler.
"All of Kepler's best capabilities have converged to yield the first solid evidence of a rocky planet orbiting a star other than our sun," said Natalie Batalha, deputy science team leader for the NASA mission. "The Kepler team made a commitment in 2010 about finding the telltale signatures of small planets in the data, and it's beginning to pay off."
Kepler-10b's size and rocky composition would make it more likely than gaseous planets to contain liquid water, and perhaps life of some kind, if it were the right distance from its star, NASA said. However, it is much too close to the star -- 20 times closer than Mercury is to our sun.
Still, the discovery has scientists optimistic about what else Kepler might be able to reveal.
"Although this planet is not in the habitable zone, the exciting find showcases the kinds of discoveries made possible by the mission and the promise of many more to come," Kepler program scientist Douglas Hudgins said.
The mission is the agency's first capable of finding Earth-size planets near the habitable zone, or the distance from a star where a planet can maintain liquid water and potential life.
The spacecraft measures size and other details by noting the tiny decrease in a star's brightness that occurs when a planet crosses in front of it.NASA spots smallest planet yet discovered outside sun's solar system
By the CNN... more
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Today NASA had held Kepler spacecraft Telescope press conference and discuss new findings from the Kepler Telescope.According to NASA spokesperson and press conference panelists " Kepler Two New Earth Size Planet "Today NASA had held Kepler spacecraft Telescope press conference and discuss new... more
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This Kepler mission is incredibly exciting to me. This is the most important thing we as a human race should be paying attention to in my opinion. We need to find other planets that we can inhabit if we are going to survive beyond the life of earth. Our star will not live forever.This Kepler mission is incredibly exciting to me. This is the most important thing we... more
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In 1999, I began to make a research about combination of ocean wave energy and gravity energy to run a power plant. But, I found some anomaly in gravity. Then, I began to investigate gravity.
Investigation of gravity brings me to the quantum science, and some achievement had been made. Such as a non-linear formula that look like Einstein formula (G = 8nT) to analyze weather two masses (like earth and moon) can be coupled to an orbital system or not. This equation is a kind of measurement of curvature gravity. Some orbital system had been confirmed by this equation, such as orbital system of Sun and eight planets, orbital system of moon and earth, orbital system of Jupiter and it's satellites (Adrastea, Amalthea, Thebe, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, Elara, Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae,Sinope)
I don't know how to get a scientific review from real scientist. The problem is my final GPA 2.4 only :D . That make me difficult to continue my research to university!
Thank God for the development of computer, I can publish my research and get many review, not only from scientist but also from amateur.
This video tells about the consistency of holly books with modern science. I don't want to proof the existence of God. I Just hope this video can increase our faith, no matter you are Christian or Moslem.In 1999, I began to make a research about combination of ocean wave energy and gravity... more
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The Kepler mission will now give us the ability to find earth like planets, before Kepler most planets that were being found were giants much like Jupiter. This new mission will specialize in finding 'goldie locks' planets, not to hot, not to cold, just right.
"Kepler is a critical component in NASA's broader efforts to ultimately find and study planets where Earth-like conditions may be present," said Jon Morse, the Astrophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The planetary census Kepler takes will be very important for understanding the frequency of Earth-size planets in our galaxy and planning future missions that directly detect and characterize such worlds around nearby stars."
The kepler mission is planned to launch on March 5 at 7:48 p.m. Pacific Time.The Kepler mission will now give us the ability to find earth like planets, before... more
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