Astronomers discover two closely orbiting exoplanets
Posted: Fri, Jun 22, 2012, 8:22 AM ET (1222 GMT)
Astronomers using data from NASA's Kepler spacecraft said Thursday they have discovered two dissimilar extrasolar planets with orbits very close to each other. The planets, designated Kepler-36b and c, orbit the same star 1,200 light-years from Earth in orbits only 1.9 million kilometers from each other. The inner planet, Kepler-36b, appears to be a "super-Earth" 4.5 times the mass and 1.5 times the radius of the Earth. The outer planer, Kepler-36c, is 3.7 times the radius and 8 times the mass of the Earth and is probably more like Neptune than the Earth. The worlds are two of 74 exoplanets confirmed by Kepler to date, with more than 2,000 candidate planets awaiting followup observations and confirmation.
Astronomers using data from NASA's Kepler spacecraft said Thursday they have discovered two dissimilar extrasolar planets with orbits very close to each other. The planets, designated Kepler-36b and c, orbit the same star 1,200 light-years from Earth in orbits only 1.9 million kilometers from each other. The inner planet, Kepler-36b, appears to be a "super-Earth" 4.5 times the mass and 1.5 times the radius of the Earth. The outer planer, Kepler-36c, is 3.7 times the radius and 8 times the mass of the Earth and is probably more like Neptune than the Earth. The worlds are two of 74 exoplanets confirmed by Kepler to date, with more than 2,000 candidate planets awaiting followup observations and confirmation.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
FAA restricts hours for commercial launches during shutdown
Posted: Sun, Nov 9 9:05 AM ET (1405 GMT) China postpones Shenzhou-20 return on orbital debris concerns
Posted: Sun, Nov 9 8:58 AM ET (1358 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, November 19
SpaceX launches another batch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit
UPI — 12:18 am ET (0518 GMT) Clock starts ticking: President Trump served with summons in battle over Space Command HQ
WZDX-TV Huntsville, AL — 12:15 am ET (0515 GMT) Saltzman’s ‘Vector’ Charts Space Force’s Progress and Next Steps
Air and Space Forces Magazine — 12:14 am ET (0514 GMT) Starbase clears the way for SpaceX to collect $7.5 million tax refund
KVEO-TV Rio Grande Valley, TX — 12:12 am ET (0512 GMT) Preparing pads for SpaceX’s future Starship cadence
NasaSpaceFlight.com — 12:11 am ET (0511 GMT) |
