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Scientists find tiny planet far beyond Earth's solar system
Source: Agencies |
February 22, 2013, Friday
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ASTRONOMERS have found a mini planet beyond our solar system that is the smallest of more than 800 extra-solar planets discovered.
The planet, known as Kepler-37b, is one of three circling a yellow star similar to the sun that is in the constellation Lyra, about 210 light years away. One light year is about 10 trillion kilometers.
"We see very large planets and they're uncommon. Earth-sized planets seen to be pretty common, so our guess is that small planets must be even more common," said Thomas Barclay, with NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Small planets are more difficult to find.
Kepler-37b and two sibling planets were discovered with a NASA space telescope of the same name, which studies light from about 150,000 stars.
The Kepler telescope works by detecting slight dips in light coming from target stars caused by orbiting planets passing by, or transiting, relative to the observatory's line of sight. The smaller the planet, the less pronounced the dip.
Of the 833 confirmed planets found beyond the solar system, 114 were discovered by the Kepler science team, according to the project's website. Nearly 3,000 more Kepler candidate planets are being analyzed.
Planets located in "habitable zones" around their host stars, where water can exist on their surfaces, are of particular interest. Water is believed to be necessary for life.
A planet positioned about where Earth orbits the sun would take a year to fly around its parent star. At least two, and preferably three or more, orbits are needed to confirm that a transit spotted by the Kepler telescope is indeed a planet and not a star flare or some other phenomenon.
Kepler-37b flies about 10 times closer to its star than Earth circles the sun. It has a surface temperature of about 427 degrees Celsius.
"This particular one is nowhere near habitable," University of Florida astronomer Eric Ford said.
The planet, known as Kepler-37b, is one of three circling a yellow star similar to the sun that is in the constellation Lyra, about 210 light years away. One light year is about 10 trillion kilometers.
"We see very large planets and they're uncommon. Earth-sized planets seen to be pretty common, so our guess is that small planets must be even more common," said Thomas Barclay, with NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Small planets are more difficult to find.
Kepler-37b and two sibling planets were discovered with a NASA space telescope of the same name, which studies light from about 150,000 stars.
The Kepler telescope works by detecting slight dips in light coming from target stars caused by orbiting planets passing by, or transiting, relative to the observatory's line of sight. The smaller the planet, the less pronounced the dip.
Of the 833 confirmed planets found beyond the solar system, 114 were discovered by the Kepler science team, according to the project's website. Nearly 3,000 more Kepler candidate planets are being analyzed.
Planets located in "habitable zones" around their host stars, where water can exist on their surfaces, are of particular interest. Water is believed to be necessary for life.
A planet positioned about where Earth orbits the sun would take a year to fly around its parent star. At least two, and preferably three or more, orbits are needed to confirm that a transit spotted by the Kepler telescope is indeed a planet and not a star flare or some other phenomenon.
Kepler-37b flies about 10 times closer to its star than Earth circles the sun. It has a surface temperature of about 427 degrees Celsius.
"This particular one is nowhere near habitable," University of Florida astronomer Eric Ford said.
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