Planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft NASA has confirmed the opening of her first alien world in the habitable zone of its star in - that only the correct choice of routes that allow could exist liquid water - and found more than 1,000 new candidates explanet, researchers today (5 December.)
New findings bring the catches Kepler telescope into space in 2326 the potential of the planet in the first 16 months operation.These discovery, if confirmed, four times the current count of the worlds is known, exists outside our solar system,which recently topped 700.
The potentially habitable alien world, a first for the Kepler orbits a star similar to our sun. The discovery gives scientists a step closer to finding a planet like ours - one that is good harbor life, scientists.
New findings bring the catches Kepler telescope into space in 2326 the potential of the planet in the first 16 months operation.These discovery, if confirmed, four times the current count of the worlds is known, exists outside our solar system,which recently topped 700.
The potentially habitable alien world, a first for the Kepler orbits a star similar to our sun. The discovery gives scientists a step closer to finding a planet like ours - one that is good harbor life, scientists.
"We are closer and closer to the discovery of the so-called" Goldilocks planets "," Pete Ward, director of the Ames Research Center Moffett Field, NASA, California, said during a press conference today.[Gallery: The Strangest Alien Planets]
Newfound planet in the habitable zone, called Kepler-22b. It is about 600 light-years from Earth and orbits the sun as a star.
The radius of the Kepler-22b is 2.4 times larger than Earth, and the two planets are about the same temperature. If the greenhouse effect in the same way as on average surface temperature of the earth temperature is 72 degrees Fahrenheit, Kepler-22b (22 degrees Celsius).
Hunting down alien planets
The radius of the Kepler-22b is 2.4 times larger than Earth, and the two planets are about the same temperature. If the greenhouse effect in the same way as on average surface temperature of the earth temperature is 72 degrees Fahrenheit, Kepler-22b (22 degrees Celsius).
Hunting down alien planets
The $ 600 million Kepler observatory in March 2009 the hunt for planets of Earth size in the alien of the habitable zone of the star where liquid water and possibly life might exist launched.
Kepler discovered alien planet with the so-called "transit method." It looks so tiny, the outages are in control of the brightness of the star when a planet transits - or crosses in front of - the star in relation to the Earth, blocking some light from a star.
Finding a graduate of the "candidates" ended on the planet after the following observations, they confirm that no false alarms. This process, which is usually done with large ground-based telescopes, it may take about a year.
Kepler team published data from their first 13 months of operation in February announced that the tool in 1235 the planet was discovered candidates, including 54 in the habitable zone, and 68, which is about the size of Earth.
Of the total of 2326 candidates of the planets Kepler found so far, 207 of the size of Earth. Some of them, 680, little more than our planet, falls into a "super-Earth" category. Total number of candidates of planets in the habitable zone of its star is now 48th
Confirmed until now little more than two dozen possible extrasolar planets have been, but Kepler scientists estimate that at least 80 percent of the discoveries of the tool should end up being the real deal.
More discoveries to come
Newfound planet candidates in 1094 are the result of the work of Kepler during the first 16 months of research, from May 2009 to September 2010. And they are not the latest discoveries will be the most productive unit.
"This is an important milestone on the road looking for a twin of the earth," said Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, said in a statement.
Mission scientists need more data for the last two years, and to analyze in the future. Kepler observations will lead to still make some time, and its nominal mission is scheduled to end in November 2012, but the team is preparing for Kepler's proposal to extend the tool to be operating for a year or more.
Kepler finds should only get more exciting as time goes by, researchers say.
"We are pressing for more asteroids and orbital periods," said Natalie battle Kepler deputy science team lead in Ames.
To identify the potential of the planet, the device typically requires three witnesses in transit. The planets, which makes three transit for a few months should be very close to their stars discovered parents, as a result, many of the strange worlds of Kepler in the early stages, hot, hot, places that are not great candidates for harboring life, as we know, dass
As more time, but much more distant orbit - to discover extrasolar planets from Kepler - and perhaps more similar to the Earth. If intelligent aliens study our solar system with its own version of Kepler, in the end it will take three years to find, to our home planet.
"We are very close," Battle said. "We are homing in on the Earth is really big planet habitable."
Kepler discovered alien planet with the so-called "transit method." It looks so tiny, the outages are in control of the brightness of the star when a planet transits - or crosses in front of - the star in relation to the Earth, blocking some light from a star.
Finding a graduate of the "candidates" ended on the planet after the following observations, they confirm that no false alarms. This process, which is usually done with large ground-based telescopes, it may take about a year.
Kepler team published data from their first 13 months of operation in February announced that the tool in 1235 the planet was discovered candidates, including 54 in the habitable zone, and 68, which is about the size of Earth.
Of the total of 2326 candidates of the planets Kepler found so far, 207 of the size of Earth. Some of them, 680, little more than our planet, falls into a "super-Earth" category. Total number of candidates of planets in the habitable zone of its star is now 48th
Confirmed until now little more than two dozen possible extrasolar planets have been, but Kepler scientists estimate that at least 80 percent of the discoveries of the tool should end up being the real deal.
More discoveries to come
Newfound planet candidates in 1094 are the result of the work of Kepler during the first 16 months of research, from May 2009 to September 2010. And they are not the latest discoveries will be the most productive unit.
"This is an important milestone on the road looking for a twin of the earth," said Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, said in a statement.
Mission scientists need more data for the last two years, and to analyze in the future. Kepler observations will lead to still make some time, and its nominal mission is scheduled to end in November 2012, but the team is preparing for Kepler's proposal to extend the tool to be operating for a year or more.
Kepler finds should only get more exciting as time goes by, researchers say.
"We are pressing for more asteroids and orbital periods," said Natalie battle Kepler deputy science team lead in Ames.
To identify the potential of the planet, the device typically requires three witnesses in transit. The planets, which makes three transit for a few months should be very close to their stars discovered parents, as a result, many of the strange worlds of Kepler in the early stages, hot, hot, places that are not great candidates for harboring life, as we know, dass
As more time, but much more distant orbit - to discover extrasolar planets from Kepler - and perhaps more similar to the Earth. If intelligent aliens study our solar system with its own version of Kepler, in the end it will take three years to find, to our home planet.
"We are very close," Battle said. "We are homing in on the Earth is really big planet habitable."
