Δημοσιεύθηκε στις 17 Απρ 2014
NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has
discovered the first validated Earth-size planet orbiting in the
habitable zone of a distant star, an area where liquid water might exist
on its surface. The planet, Kepler-186f, is ten percent larger in size
than Earth and orbits its parent star, Kepler-186, every 130 days. The
star, located about 500 light-years from Earth, is classified as an M1
dwarf and is half the size and mass of our sun.
Related Video "NASA's Kepler Discovers First Earth-Size Planet In The Habitable Zone of Another Star":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mV7Pg...
" Kepler-186f ": First Earth-size Planet Discovered in the Habitable Zone of Another Star:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOFeRO...
"April
17, 2014. Using NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers have
discovered the first Earth-size planet orbiting a star in the "habitable
zone" -- the range of distance from a star where liquid water might
pool on the surface of an orbiting planet. The discovery of Kepler-186f
confirms that planets the size of Earth exist in the habitable zone of
stars other than our sun.
While planets have previously been
found in the habitable zone, they are all at least 40 percent larger in
size than Earth, and understanding their makeup is challenging.
Kepler-186f is more reminiscent of Earth.
"The discovery of
Kepler-186f is a significant step toward finding worlds like our planet
Earth," said Paul Hertz, NASA's Astrophysics Division director at the
agency's headquarters in Washington. "Future NASA missions, like the
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and the James Webb Space
Telescope, will discover the nearest rocky exoplanets and determine
their composition and atmospheric conditions, continuing humankind's
quest to find truly Earth-like worlds."
Although the size of
Kepler-186f is known, its mass and composition are not. Previous
research, however, suggests that a planet the size of Kepler-186f is
likely to be rocky.
"We know of just one planet where life exists
-- Earth. When we search for life outside our solar system, we focus on
finding planets with characteristics that mimic that of Earth," said
Elisa Quintana, research scientist at the SETI Institute at NASA's Ames
Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and lead author of the paper
published today in the journal Science. "Finding a habitable zone planet
comparable to Earth in size is a major step forward."
Kepler-186f
resides in the Kepler-186 system, about 500 light-years from Earth in
the constellation Cygnus. The system is also home to four companion
planets, which orbit a star half the size and mass of our sun. The star
is classified as an M dwarf, or red dwarf, a class of stars that makes
up 70 percent of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
"M dwarfs are
the most numerous stars," said Quintana. "The first signs of other life
in the galaxy may well come from planets orbiting an M dwarf."
Kepler-186f
orbits its star once every 130 days and receives one-third the energy
from its star that Earth gets from the sun, placing it nearer the outer
edge of the habitable zone. On the surface of Kepler-186f, the
brightness of its star at high noon is only as bright as our sun appears
to us about an hour before sunset.
"Being in the habitable zone
does not mean we know this planet is habitable. The temperature on the
planet is strongly dependent on what kind of atmosphere the planet has,"
said Thomas Barclay, research scientist at the Bay Area Environmental
Research Institute at Ames, and co-author of the paper. "Kepler-186f can
be thought of as an Earth-cousin rather than an Earth-twin. It has many
properties that resemble Earth."
The four companion planets,
Kepler-186b, Kepler-186c, Kepler-186d and Kepler-186e, whiz around their
sun every four, seven, 13 and 22 days, respectively, making them too
hot for life as we know it. These four inner planets all measure less
than 1.5 times the size of Earth.
The next steps in the search
for distant life include looking for true Earth-twins -- Earth-size
planets orbiting within the habitable zone of a sun-like star -- and
measuring their chemical compositions. The Kepler Space Telescope, which
simultaneously and continuously measured the brightness of more than
150,000 stars, is NASA's first mission capable of detecting Earth-size
planets around stars like our sun.
The SETI Institute is a
private, nonprofit organization dedicated to scientific research,
education and public outreach. The mission of the SETI Institute is to
explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of
life in the universe.
See also "Kepler-186f Animation":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx4ERG...
Article Credit: NASA JPL/PlanetQuest
"NASA's Kepler Telescope Discovers First Earth-Size Planet in 'Habitable Zone' ":
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php...
Release Date: 17 April 2014
Video Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
discovered the first validated Earth-size planet orbiting in the
habitable zone of a distant star, an area where liquid water might exist
on its surface. The planet, Kepler-186f, is ten percent larger in size
than Earth and orbits its parent star, Kepler-186, every 130 days. The
star, located about 500 light-years from Earth, is classified as an M1
dwarf and is half the size and mass of our sun.
Related Video "NASA's Kepler Discovers First Earth-Size Planet In The Habitable Zone of Another Star":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mV7Pg...
" Kepler-186f ": First Earth-size Planet Discovered in the Habitable Zone of Another Star:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOFeRO...
"April
17, 2014. Using NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers have
discovered the first Earth-size planet orbiting a star in the "habitable
zone" -- the range of distance from a star where liquid water might
pool on the surface of an orbiting planet. The discovery of Kepler-186f
confirms that planets the size of Earth exist in the habitable zone of
stars other than our sun.
While planets have previously been
found in the habitable zone, they are all at least 40 percent larger in
size than Earth, and understanding their makeup is challenging.
Kepler-186f is more reminiscent of Earth.
"The discovery of
Kepler-186f is a significant step toward finding worlds like our planet
Earth," said Paul Hertz, NASA's Astrophysics Division director at the
agency's headquarters in Washington. "Future NASA missions, like the
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and the James Webb Space
Telescope, will discover the nearest rocky exoplanets and determine
their composition and atmospheric conditions, continuing humankind's
quest to find truly Earth-like worlds."
Although the size of
Kepler-186f is known, its mass and composition are not. Previous
research, however, suggests that a planet the size of Kepler-186f is
likely to be rocky.
"We know of just one planet where life exists
-- Earth. When we search for life outside our solar system, we focus on
finding planets with characteristics that mimic that of Earth," said
Elisa Quintana, research scientist at the SETI Institute at NASA's Ames
Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and lead author of the paper
published today in the journal Science. "Finding a habitable zone planet
comparable to Earth in size is a major step forward."
Kepler-186f
resides in the Kepler-186 system, about 500 light-years from Earth in
the constellation Cygnus. The system is also home to four companion
planets, which orbit a star half the size and mass of our sun. The star
is classified as an M dwarf, or red dwarf, a class of stars that makes
up 70 percent of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
"M dwarfs are
the most numerous stars," said Quintana. "The first signs of other life
in the galaxy may well come from planets orbiting an M dwarf."
Kepler-186f
orbits its star once every 130 days and receives one-third the energy
from its star that Earth gets from the sun, placing it nearer the outer
edge of the habitable zone. On the surface of Kepler-186f, the
brightness of its star at high noon is only as bright as our sun appears
to us about an hour before sunset.
"Being in the habitable zone
does not mean we know this planet is habitable. The temperature on the
planet is strongly dependent on what kind of atmosphere the planet has,"
said Thomas Barclay, research scientist at the Bay Area Environmental
Research Institute at Ames, and co-author of the paper. "Kepler-186f can
be thought of as an Earth-cousin rather than an Earth-twin. It has many
properties that resemble Earth."
The four companion planets,
Kepler-186b, Kepler-186c, Kepler-186d and Kepler-186e, whiz around their
sun every four, seven, 13 and 22 days, respectively, making them too
hot for life as we know it. These four inner planets all measure less
than 1.5 times the size of Earth.
The next steps in the search
for distant life include looking for true Earth-twins -- Earth-size
planets orbiting within the habitable zone of a sun-like star -- and
measuring their chemical compositions. The Kepler Space Telescope, which
simultaneously and continuously measured the brightness of more than
150,000 stars, is NASA's first mission capable of detecting Earth-size
planets around stars like our sun.
The SETI Institute is a
private, nonprofit organization dedicated to scientific research,
education and public outreach. The mission of the SETI Institute is to
explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of
life in the universe.
See also "Kepler-186f Animation":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx4ERG...
Article Credit: NASA JPL/PlanetQuest
"NASA's Kepler Telescope Discovers First Earth-Size Planet in 'Habitable Zone' ":
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php...
Release Date: 17 April 2014
Video Credit: NASA Ames Research Center
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