Astronomers find two large planets, plus possible super-Earth-size one
NASA announced the discovery, which was also detailed in a paper in this week’s edition of Science Express, today.
The Kepler spacecraft, launched to seek Earth-like planets around sun-like stars, has so far identified more than 700 planet candidates that pass in front of or “transit” their stars.
Using traditional methods, extensive follow-up observations would be required to confirm that the candidates are, in fact, planets, according to the Science Express paper. The astronomers who made the discovery used a new method of confirming planets called the transit timing variation method, said Eric Ford, a UF assistant professor of astronomy and the fourth author of the Science Express paper.
“Using transit timing variations, astronomers have a new tool for confirming some planetary systems much more efficiently than before,” Ford said. “The discovery also represents the first time that astronomers have discovered more than one planet transiting the same star.”
He added, “There are dozens and dozens where one planet transits the star, and there are some other systems where you have multiple planets, but they don’t both transit the same star. This system provides new opportunities for testing models of planet formation.”
He said the indications of the third planet remain only that, but that if it is confirmed, it would be the planet with the smallest radius yet measured outside our solar system.
However, he said, the possible planet would not be in the “habitable zone,” where conditions would allow for liquid water, an essential ingredient for life on Earth. Instead, the planet candidate would be far closer to its star, and very hot as a result. If it is a planet, then its surface temperature likely exceeds 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, he said.
The UF team consisted of Ford, astronomy postdoctoral associate Althea Moorhead and astronomy graduate student Robert Morehead. Kepler is NASA’s 10th Discovery mission.
Writer
Aaron Hoover, ahoover@ufl.edu, 352-392-0186
Source
Eric Ford, eford@astro.ufl.edu, 352 392-2052 Ext. 209
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.ufl.eduAll latest news from the category: Physics and Astronomy
This area deals with the fundamental laws and building blocks of nature and how they interact, the properties and the behavior of matter, and research into space and time and their structures.
innovations-report provides in-depth reports and articles on subjects such as astrophysics, laser technologies, nuclear, quantum, particle and solid-state physics, nanotechnologies, planetary research and findings (Mars, Venus) and developments related to the Hubble Telescope.
Newest articles
Machine learning algorithm reveals long-theorized glass phase in crystal
Scientists have found evidence of an elusive, glassy phase of matter that emerges when a crystal’s perfect internal pattern is disrupted. X-ray technology and machine learning converge to shed light…
Mapping plant functional diversity from space
HKU ecologists revolutionize ecosystem monitoring with novel field-satellite integration. An international team of researchers, led by Professor Jin WU from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Hong…
Inverters with constant full load capability
…enable an increase in the performance of electric drives. Overheating components significantly limit the performance of drivetrains in electric vehicles. Inverters in particular are subject to a high thermal load,…