P.J.
0
Nasa discovers yet another rocky exoplanet, and it's only 21 light years away
Sunday 02 August 2015
Astronomers have discovered the closest rocky planet outside our solar system, which is larger than Earth and a "potential gold mine of science data".
Using Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists managed to confirm the existence of the planet, in a major milestone in space research.
Unfortunately, unlike Kepler 452b, the incredibly Earth-like planet that was discovered recently, this new planet, the catchily-named HD 219134b, is far too close to its star to sustain life.
Although it's far too hot to visit, it's significantly closer to earth than Kepler, only 21 light years away compared to 1,400 - although that's still incredibly far away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY7s7Zq4zDQ
To put that in perspective, Nasa's New Horizons probe, famed for taking recent stunning pictures of Pluto, left Earth's orbit at 36,373mph, faster than any other spacecraft before it.
If you were on a spaceship going this fast, it would take you just over 387,000 years to get to HD 219134b from Earth.
HD 219134b can't be seen directly, even by telescopes, but the star that it orbits can be seen by the naked eye in the Cassiopeia constellation, near the North Star.
The sheer closeness of HD 219134b to Earth makes it ripe for research by space-based telescopes.
Michael Werner, the project scientist for the Spitzer mission at Nasa said that "this exoplanet will be one of the most studied for decades to come."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...nd-its-only-21-light-years-away-10432223.html
Sunday 02 August 2015
Astronomers have discovered the closest rocky planet outside our solar system, which is larger than Earth and a "potential gold mine of science data".
Using Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists managed to confirm the existence of the planet, in a major milestone in space research.
Unfortunately, unlike Kepler 452b, the incredibly Earth-like planet that was discovered recently, this new planet, the catchily-named HD 219134b, is far too close to its star to sustain life.
Although it's far too hot to visit, it's significantly closer to earth than Kepler, only 21 light years away compared to 1,400 - although that's still incredibly far away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY7s7Zq4zDQ
To put that in perspective, Nasa's New Horizons probe, famed for taking recent stunning pictures of Pluto, left Earth's orbit at 36,373mph, faster than any other spacecraft before it.
If you were on a spaceship going this fast, it would take you just over 387,000 years to get to HD 219134b from Earth.
HD 219134b can't be seen directly, even by telescopes, but the star that it orbits can be seen by the naked eye in the Cassiopeia constellation, near the North Star.
The sheer closeness of HD 219134b to Earth makes it ripe for research by space-based telescopes.
Michael Werner, the project scientist for the Spitzer mission at Nasa said that "this exoplanet will be one of the most studied for decades to come."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...nd-its-only-21-light-years-away-10432223.html
