A NASA spacecraft has detected a rocky
planet that is the smallest ever discovered outside
the Sun's solar system, the agency announced
Monday.
The exoplanet -- so named because it orbits a star
other than the Sun -- has been dubbed
Kepler-10b. It measures 1.4 times the Earth's
diameter and was confirmed after more than
eight months of data collection, the agency said.
It is the first rocky, or Earth-like, planet discovered
by Kepler.
"All of Kepler's best capabilities have converged to
yield the first solid evidence of a rocky planet
orbiting a star other than our sun," said Natalie
Batalha, deputy science team leader for the NASA
mission. "The Kepler team made a commitment
in 2010 about finding the telltale signatures of
small planets in the data, and it's beginning to pay
off."
Kepler-10b's size and rocky composition would
make it more likely than gaseous planets to
contain liquid water, and perhaps life of some
kind, if it were the right distance from its star,
NASA said. However, it is much too close to the
star -- 20 times closer than Mercury is to the Sun.
Kepler-10b's star is about 560 light years from
Earth, according to NASA.
Still, the discovery has scientists optimistic about
what else Kepler might be able to reveal.
"Although this planet is not in the habitable zone,
the exciting find showcases the kinds of
discoveries made possible by the mission and the
promise of many more to come," said Kepler
program scientist Douglas Hudgins.
The mission is the agency's first capable of
finding Earth-size planets near the habitable zone,
or the distance from a star where a planet can
maintain liquid water and potential life.
The spacecraft measures size and other details by
noting the tiny decrease in a star's brightness that
occurs when a planet crosses in front of it.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/01/10/nasa.planet.discovery/?hpt=C1
planet that is the smallest ever discovered outside
the Sun's solar system, the agency announced
Monday.
The exoplanet -- so named because it orbits a star
other than the Sun -- has been dubbed
Kepler-10b. It measures 1.4 times the Earth's
diameter and was confirmed after more than
eight months of data collection, the agency said.
It is the first rocky, or Earth-like, planet discovered
by Kepler.
"All of Kepler's best capabilities have converged to
yield the first solid evidence of a rocky planet
orbiting a star other than our sun," said Natalie
Batalha, deputy science team leader for the NASA
mission. "The Kepler team made a commitment
in 2010 about finding the telltale signatures of
small planets in the data, and it's beginning to pay
off."
Kepler-10b's size and rocky composition would
make it more likely than gaseous planets to
contain liquid water, and perhaps life of some
kind, if it were the right distance from its star,
NASA said. However, it is much too close to the
star -- 20 times closer than Mercury is to the Sun.
Kepler-10b's star is about 560 light years from
Earth, according to NASA.
Still, the discovery has scientists optimistic about
what else Kepler might be able to reveal.
"Although this planet is not in the habitable zone,
the exciting find showcases the kinds of
discoveries made possible by the mission and the
promise of many more to come," said Kepler
program scientist Douglas Hudgins.
The mission is the agency's first capable of
finding Earth-size planets near the habitable zone,
or the distance from a star where a planet can
maintain liquid water and potential life.
The spacecraft measures size and other details by
noting the tiny decrease in a star's brightness that
occurs when a planet crosses in front of it.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/01/10/nasa.planet.discovery/?hpt=C1
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