A New Home
Written by Vincent Napolitano
In recent years our technology has grown by leaps and bounds. Discoveries are being made in astronomy on a daily basis. With our new technology we are exploring places that we have never seen before. We have telescopes that are scanning the wide reaches of space for many different reasons. Scientists have put robots on Mars to explore the surface topography . Space ships have explored areas that are on the outer edge of our solar system. All of this technology has allowed scientists to make amazing discoveries.
A special telescope was launched in 2009. The Kepler mission was set to last for three and a half years minimum. The total cost is approximately 600 million dollars. It's primary purpose is to find planets within our galaxy that have conditions that are similar to the earth. These planets have to lie in what is called the habitable zone. To be in the habitable zone the temperature must be able to support liquid water at the surface.
The Kepler telescope works by analzying a stars brightness. As a planet passes in front of a star the brightness of that star drops by a little bit. The subtle change in brightness is enough to be picked up by the kepler telescope. The telescope systems analyze the change in brightness and make determinations as to how far away the planet is from us. It also makes a determination as to how big the planet is. This project has made many remarkable discoveries.
After looking around at stars for a while the kepler telescope made an amazing discovery . Kepler 22-b was found. The anticipation started to build around the discovery of this planet. This was the first planet that was found in the habitable zone. That means it could be another earth like planet. It is the smallest planet that revolves around a star very similar to our sun.
This planetary discovery was unbelievable. Data began to pour in about this planet and the excitement just kept getting bigger. Kepler 22-b has a equatorial diameter that is about 2.4 times bigger then the earth. It is located 600 light years away from our planet. The orbital revolution is 290 days. That is about 75 days quicker than our own.
The possibilites are endless for what this little telescope can find in the future. The number of habitable zone planets has gone up by about 200% since February 2011. There are 207 planets that have been confirmed to be around earthlike in size. Many big things can still be on the horizon with this telescope. This telescope could find a planet that is very similar to our earth. The planet could eventually be our new home!
All sources and images were accessed from Nasa.gov
Wilson, Jim, ed. "Nasa." . Nasa, 20 Jun 2013. Web. 21 Jun 2013..
Culler, Jessica, ed. "NASA's Kepler Discovers Its Smallest 'Habitable Zone' Planets to Date." . Nasa, 18 Apr 2013. Web. 21 Jun 2013. .
Culler, Jessica, ed. "NASA's Kepler Mission Confirms Its First Planet in Habitable Zone of Sun-like Star." . Nasa, 07 Dec 2011. Web. 21 Jun 2013. .