NASA scientists are looking for our next home in space--an earth-sized habitable planet around a sun like our star. To find it, they've sent out a scout--the Kepler deep-space probe. Launched last year, Kepler has already surveyed more than 156,000 stars and located hundreds of objects orbiting many of them.
Recently, Kepler discovered the first solar system beyond ours with two massive Saturn-sized planets crossing (or transiting) in front of the same sun. They also found evidence to suggest that there might be a smaller planet about 1.5 times the diameter of earth. This "Super Earth" is suspected to be far closer to that star than Mercury is to our sun. So while it may be the right size, it would be hellishly hot on the surface. Still, scientists are keenly interested in this star system--which is about 2,000 light-years away--because it's a star much like our sun.
Less than 15 years ago, we weren't really certain if there were planets around any stars. Today, thanks to Kepler, we know of almost 500 planets. And that's just the start. Kepler will probably find hundreds more. Scientists believe that a Super Earth-type planet could be rocky, and if positioned properly, could have the potential to sustain some form of life. Finding such a planet will undoubtedly change humanity's view of our place in the universe.
Check out NASA's Kepler news release for more information on Kepler's mission.
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Alex A. Kecskes has written hundreds of published articles on health/fitness, "green" issues, TV/film entertainment, restaurant reviews and many other topics. As a former Andy/Belding/One Show ad agency copywriter, he also writes web content, ads, brochures, sales letters, mailers and scripts for national B2B and B2C clients.
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