Kepler Space Telescope has discoverd a new planet similiar to our earth, recently. It has been named as 'Keplar-22b' after the name of the telescope.
Kepler Space Telescope, named in honor of the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, is a space based observatory which was launched two years ago. It is a part of 'Keplar Mission', a NASA(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) project to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. It spots a planet when it comes between its cameras and the parent star, a phenomenon called a transit.
Kepler-22b planet is 600 light years away from the Earth and is about 2.4 times the size of the Earth. However, it's mass is not known yet. It has an average temperature of around 22 degrees Celsius and has got the right atmosphere to potentially support life.
Kepler-22b orbits its star in 290 days, at a distance 15% closer than the Earth is from the Sun. It lies in the centre of the habitable zone around its star, where potentially life supporting conditions exist. It is also the first habitable zone planet orbiting a Sun-like star.
The so called habitable zone is an area around the Star where temperatures are just right for life to exist. A planet orbiting beyond the outer edge of habitable zone will be too distant and will be too cold to sustain liquid water on its surface and any water present will freeze. And, a planet orbiting closer to its star than the inner edge of the habitable zone will be too close and will be too hot and any water present will boil away or be lost into space entirely.
Kepler Space Telescope, named in honor of the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, is a space based observatory which was launched two years ago. It is a part of 'Keplar Mission', a NASA(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) project to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. It spots a planet when it comes between its cameras and the parent star, a phenomenon called a transit.
Kepler-22b planet is 600 light years away from the Earth and is about 2.4 times the size of the Earth. However, it's mass is not known yet. It has an average temperature of around 22 degrees Celsius and has got the right atmosphere to potentially support life.
Kepler-22b orbits its star in 290 days, at a distance 15% closer than the Earth is from the Sun. It lies in the centre of the habitable zone around its star, where potentially life supporting conditions exist. It is also the first habitable zone planet orbiting a Sun-like star.
The so called habitable zone is an area around the Star where temperatures are just right for life to exist. A planet orbiting beyond the outer edge of habitable zone will be too distant and will be too cold to sustain liquid water on its surface and any water present will freeze. And, a planet orbiting closer to its star than the inner edge of the habitable zone will be too close and will be too hot and any water present will boil away or be lost into space entirely.
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