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First Earth sized planets discovered

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  • 21-12-2011 12:11am
    #1
    namloc1980
    Registered Users Posts: 18,222 ✭✭✭✭


    Kepler continues to make amazing discoveries. It has now identified the first extrasolar planets that are the same size as the Earth:

    planetschart.jpg

    Read the article for more info: Link


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    #2
    Beeker
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,645 Mod ✭✭✭✭Beeker


    namloc1980 wrote: »
    Kepler continues to make amazing discoveries. It has now identified the first extrasolar planets that are the same size as the Earth:

    planetschart.jpg

    Read the article for more info: Link
    Kepler realy is a champion of a spacecraft. I remember thinking before it was launched that the potential from Kepler was fantastic and wondered if it realy would work as advertised. Well it has shown that it has and continues to produce some fantastic results. :)


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    #3
    markfla
    Registered Users Posts: 335 ✭✭markfla


    A generation before us got the moon landings, I feel now in the scheme of things the discoveries being made by kepler and the LHC are more significant. Pity it's not such a big public impact as the moon landings as most of the planet it's preoccupied with the value of paper notes.


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    #4
    Conor108
    Registered Users Posts: 3,871 ✭✭✭Conor108


    This is really cool and I hope it helps confirm KOI 736.01, a Kepler candidate.

    Pros
    • 1.28 Earth's mass
    • 1.07 Earth's radius
    • 1.12 Surface gravity
    • 13 degrees celsius

    Cons
    • 19 day period
    • 1750ly from Earth


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    #5
    namloc1980
    Registered Users Posts: 18,222 ✭✭✭✭namloc1980


    Kepler is a super mission, and anyone can be a part of it. Go to www.planethunters.org and you can search Kepler data to see if you can spot an extrasolar planet transiting a distant star. Anyone who identifies a dip in a star's light curve which is later confirmed to be a planet will be credited with the discovery! Imagine being the discoverer of an Earth-like planet!


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    #6
    BULLER
    Registered Users Posts: 340 ✭✭BULLER


    When they state the mean temperature of a planet, 13C for KOI 736 for example, does that soley take into account distance from (and size of) its parent star or is there anything else they use to predict it?
    Venus for example is waaaaaay hotter than it should be because of its thick heat trapping atmosphere.

    I've wondered that whenever they state a temperature. Surely they've no real idea until more powerful telescopes can detect and spectrograph exoplanet atmospheres.


    Fantastic news by the way, Kepler rocks!


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