Sunday, January 31, 2016
Kepler mission and the hunt for habitable exoplanets
Human curiosity plays a major role in all of our discoveries. One thing humans are very curious about is if there are other worlds out there like our own. That is where the Kepler mission comes in. In March of 2009, NASA sent off a spacecraft that would be capable of detecting such planets if they do indeed exist. The craft beams back data from 150,000 different stars in our galaxy. The way we know if there is a planet is based on the changes in light beaming towards the craft from the star. If there is a periodic change in light, we know that it is a planet traversing in front of that star. To date, there have been 1,039 confirmed exoplanets. 12 of these planets have been confirmed to be less than twice Earth-size and within the habitable zone. The habitable zone is the section in a solar system where liquid water could potentially exist. Basically, it's in the location where it's not too hot and not too cold in its orbit of the parent star. We cannot view these planets directly, but the light traversing method has been proven to be accurate. It also allows us to understand the atmospheric makeup of the planet which can help determine if the planet is suitable for life. NASA scientists hope to one day develop telescopes powerful enough to view these planets directly.
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The universe is so interesting. The fact that this mission was only started in 2009 and NASA has already confirmed 1,039 exoplanets. On top of that 12 possibly could be habitable. This whole situation reminds me of Interstellar and I wonder if that plot isn't so far off of what will actually happen in the future.
ReplyDeleteFor how young the NASA program is and how vast the universe is we have discovered so much about it, yet there are so many things we still do not know and might not find out for some time. However, with the growing curiosity of mankind and advancements in technology, it is just a matter of time until we solve mysteries of the universe and create transportation that allows us to adventure out into space.
ReplyDeleteIn my high school astronomy class I remember discussing how NASA could use the light to detect other planets orbiting other stars. That’s incredible that they have found 12 planets that could possibly be habitable. Reading some of the other articles it looks like the majority of plants that have been found are larger than our own earth. The nick names like super earth and earth cousin are an nifty way to think about their habitable possibility.
ReplyDeleteit is crazy to think about how many other planets are out there and even habitable for humans. it makes you think if there really is other life out there.
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