Kepler passes scientific tests
Posted: Fri, Aug 7, 2009, 8:04 AM ET (1204 GMT)
Observations of a star known to have an extrasolar planet have confirmed that a new NASA spacecraft should be able to detect Earth-sized worlds around other stars, scientists said Thursday. NASA used the Kepler spacecraft, launched earlier this year, to observe a star 1,000 light-years away where previous observations had detected a planet closely orbiting it. Kepler was able to detect the changes in brightness as the star transited across the star's disk, as well as a much smaller change when the planet passed behind the star. The high quality of the Kepler data also allowed scientists to infer additional data about the planet, including a temperature on its day side of 2,375 degrees Celsius. Kepler, launched in March, will spend the next three and a half years observing one region of the sky, looking for similar transits caused by other exoplanets, including worlds the size of the Earth.
Observations of a star known to have an extrasolar planet have confirmed that a new NASA spacecraft should be able to detect Earth-sized worlds around other stars, scientists said Thursday. NASA used the Kepler spacecraft, launched earlier this year, to observe a star 1,000 light-years away where previous observations had detected a planet closely orbiting it. Kepler was able to detect the changes in brightness as the star transited across the star's disk, as well as a much smaller change when the planet passed behind the star. The high quality of the Kepler data also allowed scientists to infer additional data about the planet, including a temperature on its day side of 2,375 degrees Celsius. Kepler, launched in March, will spend the next three and a half years observing one region of the sky, looking for similar transits caused by other exoplanets, including worlds the size of the Earth.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
New Virgin Galactic spaceplane arrives at Spaceport America
Posted: Sat, Oct 31 10:38 AM ET (1438 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, November 2
Forum: Springs’ space future is bright without Space Command
Colorado Springs Gazette — 5:37 am ET (1037 GMT) S. Korea's Air Force to participate in U.S.-led space war game for 1st time
Yonhap News — 5:35 am ET (1035 GMT) The growing threats that make the Space Force essential
Washington Examiner — 5:33 am ET (1033 GMT) Lawfare against Elon Musk could affect the Artemis program
The Hill — 5:26 am ET (1026 GMT) Southland's global space company won't write down military policy
The Southland App (NZ) — 5:25 am ET (1025 GMT) |
