Kepler Scientists Discover Five New Planets
The search for life-sustaining planets and alien life got a boost recently, as five new planets were discovered. The discovery was made using the $591 million worth Kepler space telescope.
The announcement was made by William Borucki, leader of the Kepler science team in Moffett Field, Calif., at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society held in Washington, D.C.
The five planets were found orbiting very close to their stars, and they are as hot as a fiery furnace. Because of the proximity, the five planets orbit their stars every four days. Estimated temperatures of the planets were estimated to be more than 2,240 degrees Fahrenheit. William Borucki, who is from NASA’s Ames Research Center, was quoted as saying “Certainly they are no places to look for life. That will be coming later,”
According to the team’s scientist, Natalie Batalha from San Jose University, analysis reveal that just one-third of stars being orbited by the planets release more solar blast energy than our sun.
Four of the five discovered planets are about 1.3 to 1.5 times broader than planet Jupiter. The fifth one, named Kepler-4b, weights only 8% of Jupiter’s weight and is just 0.6 times as wide.
With this discovery, experts are even more confident that the Kepler space telescope, which was launched last year, would be successful in detecting even more planets. The 2,300 pound telescope monitors over 150,000 stars about 3,000 light-years away from earth with amazing precision.
omg thats truly aammaazzziinngg