17 Apr 2014 - NASA's Kepler Discovers First Earth-Size Planet In The 'Habitable Zone' of Another Star

[NASA]

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery/kepler186f_artistconcept_0_160X120.jpg (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=47073)17 Apr 2014 - NASA's Kepler Discovers First Earth-Size Planet In The 'Habitable Zone' of Another Star
Using NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered the first Earth-size planet orbiting a star in the "habitable zone" -- the range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on the surface of an orbiting planet.


More... (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=47073)

[Matt P]

If you believe this is the first earth-size and potentially habitable planet that's been found, I'd like to sell you a nice Manhattan bridge. I have the title, too, really, I swear.

[swoods_blue]

I think it's a significant story for a number of reasons. Even if you're of the opinion that "they" are hiding lots of info, it's good to see these details being made public. I do think it helps make people more conscious of the scale of the humble little galaxy we call home :-)

[Cidersomerset]

Thread I posted yesterday.......


'Most Earth-like planet yet' spotted by Kepler // Have we finally found EARTH 2.0?


More drip drip from NASA and since the Catholic church announced their edict
about our 'Space Brothers' a few years ago I think we are not far off official
disclosure....LOL Each find over the past few years are getting a bit more
earth like.

http://socioecohistory.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/vatican_tied_mount_graham_observatory_launches_lucifer_telescope.jpg


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Found! First Earth-Size Planet That Could Support Life

By Miriam Kramer, Staff Writer | April 17, 2014 02:01pm ET

vid on link...


http://www.space.com/25530-earthsize-exoplanet-kepler-186f-habitable-discovery.html


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17 April 2014 Last updated at 19:04
'Most Earth-like planet yet' spotted by KeplerRebecca Morelle
By Rebecca Morelle

Global science correspondent, BBC News

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vid from NASA link....


The most Earth-like planet yet has been discovered, scientists report in the journal
Science.The rocky planet, Kepler 186f, is close to the size of Earth and has the
potential to hold liquid water, which is critical for life, the team says.Nestled in the
Milky Way, it is part of a five-planet system that orbits around a cool dwarf star.It
was spotted by the Kepler telescope, which has found nearly 1,000 new worlds
since its launch in 2009.

"This is the smallest planet we've found so far in the habitable zone," said Prof
Stephen Kane, an astrophysicist from San Francisco State University, US.
San Francisco State University

Kepler 186f is about 500 light-years away from the Earth.The researchers estimate
that is a little bigger than our planet, with a radius that is about 10% larger than
ours. Because of its size, the team believes it is a rocky planet.

Prof Kane explained: "There seems to be a transition that occurs at about 1.5 times
the Earth's radius, such that if the planet is larger, then it starts to develop a very
substantial atmosphere very similar to what we see in the gas giant planets in our
own Solar System.

"And so anything less than 1.5 is probably more like a rocky planet that we are
familiar with."

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74277000/jpg/_74277020_quintana3hr.jpg

Comparison between Earth and Kepler 186f Kepler 186f orbits a star that is smaller
and cooler than our Sun, but at a distance where water would be liquid Kepler 186f
travels around a small and cool star. Of the five planets in the system, its orbit is
furthest out and lasts about 130 days. The team believes that it has the potential to
hold water because with this orbital path it does not journey too close to its star for
the liquid to boil away or so far out that it would freeze. Scientists call this region
the "habitable zone".

Prof Kane said: "Even though it is orbiting a star which is very different from our
Sun, the planet itself - both in terms of size and the amount of energy it is
receiving from its star - is the most similar planet to our Earth that we've yet
discovered.

"That is great news in terms of looking for planets which might actually be similar
to the Earth, especially as the kind of star it does orbit - which is a very small star -
are amongst the most common in the galaxy.

"And if all of these very common small stars have lots of terrestrial-sized planets in
the habitable zone then that is very good news."

However, these small stars also tend to be more active than stars the size of the
Sun.So if Kepler 186f does have water - an essential ingredient for life - any
potential organisms would be bombarded with solar flares and radiation.
The hunt for planets outside of our own Solar System has made remarkable
advances in recent years.The first was found just 20 years ago; now, nearly 2,000
have been spotted - many by the Kepler telescope.However, a planet that is exactly
the same size as Earth, orbiting a star just like the Sun, at the same distance has
yet to be seen. Such a find will almost certainly come with future technologies. The
European Space Agency recently approved the development of an orbiting
telescope call Plato, which will be tuned specifically to detect true Earth analogues.

Follow Rebecca on Twitter

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27054366

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Have we finally found EARTH 2.0? Astronomers discover first same-size planet in
habitable zone that could support alien life

The first Earth-sized world in the habitable zone of a star has been foundKepler-
186f is 1.1 times the size of Earth and orbits its star in 130 daysThe discovery was
made by a team of scientists using the Kepler telescopeIt could be the first planet
found outside our solar system with liquid waterAnd it is the most likely place for
alien life to exist that's been found so far

By Jonathan O'Callaghan

Published: 19:00, 17 April 2014 | Updated: 19:42, 17 April 2014

For decades astronomers have been searching for a world like our own outside the
solar system that could host alien life.And now astronomers have announced that
they have found one - a planet 1.1 times the size of Earth orbiting a star just 490
light years away.Called Kepler-186f, the planet is the first to be discovered with the
right conditions for liquid water to exist on its surface, meaning it could support
alien life as well.Astronomers have announced they have discovered a planet called
Kepler-186f, artist's illustration shown. It is the first Earth-sized planet outside out
solar system that has been discovered in the habitable zone of a star, which means
it could have both water and life on its surface

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74277000/jpg/_74277018_quintana4hr.jpg

The find was made by a team of astronomers led by Elisa Quintana of the SETI
Institute at Nasa Ames Research Center, who pored through planetary data from
Nasa’s Kepler space telescope.To date, the telescope has found hundreds of
planets, but most are uninhabitable worlds that are either too large or orbit too
close to their host star to support life.The discovery of Kepler-186f, therefore, is a
big milestone in the field of planet hunting.It is the fifth and outermost world of the
planetary system around red dwarf star Kepler-186 and is almost certainly a rocky
planet.The find is significant because it is the first Earth-sized world we’ve found in
the habitable zone of a star.Habitable zones, also known as ‘Goldilocks zones’, are
regions around a star where the temperature is just right for water to form.
Earth, for example, sits almost bang in the middle of our sun’s habitable zone.
Although previously we have found exoplanets (worlds outside the solar system) in
these zones, none have been the same size as Earth. As our planet is known to
have life, it stands to reason that a similar planet may also be habitable.This could
make Kepler-186f the first world we’ve found that might host life as we know it.

WHAT IS A GOLDILOCKS ZONE?

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/17/article-2607079-1D2A495B00000578-218_620x346.jpg


This diagram shows how habitable zones work around stars

The Goldilocks zone, or habitable zone, is the belt around a star where
temperatures are ideal for liquid water to pool on a planet's surface.To determine
the location of a star's habitable zone, scientists have to first learn how much total
radiation it emits. They can calculate this by knowing the size and type of the
star.They can then estimate a region where it might not be too hot or too cold for
water to form. The diagram compares the planets of our inner solar system to
Kepler-186, a five-planet system about 490 light-years from Earth in the
constellation Cygnus. The five planets of Kepler-186 orbit a star classified as a M1
dwarf, measuring half the size and mass of the sun


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This makes the discovery of a planet that could have water all the more important.
'Kepler 186f will likely provide our first opportunity to search for alien life beyond
the solar system.'The planet orbits an M-type dwarf star, one that is slightly
dimmer than our own sun, making its habitable zone hug it slightly tighter.
But Kepler-186f is on a slightly different orbit than Earth, taking 130 days to make
it around the star.This places it towards the edge of the habitable zone of Kepler-
186.The other four planets in the system have orbits lasting three to 21 days, making them inhospitable.

‘Kepler-186f is at the right distance from the star for water to form,’ Thomas
Barclay, a research scientist on the Kepler mission and another author on the paper
announcing the discovery of the planet, tells MailOnline.Barclay was involved in
modelling the planet and discerning what we think it could look like, as shown in
the artist’s impressions.‘We looked at the kind of light coming from the star, which
is slightly redder than our sun,’ he explains.‘So we tried to cover the planet in the
right colour light, so the planet looks slightly more orangey.‘We tried to work out
what sort of colour the ocean would be, so with less blue light the oceans would be
duller, not a bright blue like our own planet.‘Then we have the clouds and ice,
which are very reasonable assumptions to exist if there’s an atmosphere.‘These
would reflect the same colour as the star – our clouds are white because the sun is
white.‘So on Kepler-186f they would appear orangey and red.'

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/17/article-2607079-1D28446A00000578-219_634x724.jpg


This image of Kepler-186f is based on what the astronomers expect it might look
like. The plant life is yellow due to the manner in which it reflects light from the star
but the water and clouds would probably be a bit more orange than they are shown
here, according to Thomas Barclay

While it’s known the planet is in the habitable zone, astronomers can’t be sure with
absolute certainty it has water.Extrapolating on what we know from Earth,
however, Kepler-186f is a prime candidate for being a world with oceans and seas.
That would be dependent on it having an atmosphere, though.‘If we didn’t have an
atmosphere, we wouldn’t have liquid water,’ says Barclay.

‘It blankets us and traps heat.

WHAT IS KEPLER?

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/16/article-2325360-19CCF46A000005DC-941_634x494.jpg

The new discovery was made by chance as scientists scoured data from the Kepler
space telescope looking for evidence of moons rather than planetsThe Kepler space
telescope orbits the Sun 40 million miles (65 million kilometres) from Earth.

It is named after 17th Century astronomer Johannes Kepler.

It was launched in 2009 with the sole purpose of finding new stars and planets.

To date hundreds of planets have been confirmed with the telescope.

But there is still a lot of data to look through which could have more planets within it.

The telescope recently lost the functionality in two of its four 'reaction wheels' that
are used to point it at stars.This has left it lying adrift in space, but Nasa has plans
to re-purpose it for a new mission.‘The same would happen on Kepler-186f.’
And if there is plant life on this planet, Barclay says it would again be different to
what we have on Earth.‘We did think about what colour the plant life might be due
to photosynthesis.‘The best guess is they would be more yellow, due to the
different colour of the star.‘The plants would be yellow because it’s to do with the
energy coming in and being reflected.’Both Barclay and Howell say that this world is
probably more like a cousin to Earth than a direct twin.

It has similar characteristics but it orbits a different star.

With upcoming telescopes like Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope, launching in
2018, we might be able to observe the atmospheres of planets like these closer to
us and find out if they have similar chemical compositions to our own.This would
definitively give us answers as to how habitable other worlds are.70 per cent of all
stars are so-called M-type stars, the same as the one Kepler-186f orbits.This means
that a lot of planets we find might also be in orbit around these stars.Discovering
that Earth-sized worlds can exist in the habitable zone around these stars,
therefore, is of huge importance.

‘There could be many of these planets closer by,’ explains Dr Howell.

‘If we can find those and subject them to study, we could see if they have
biosignatures in the atmosphere.

‘In the next 20 years I’d say there’s an 80 per cent chance we’ll find a definite
habitable planet in our vicinity.

‘If we look at all those planets we won’t see cities or coastlines or green fields, but I
think we’ll have a good shot of seeing water vapour and things that make us
believe they’re more like Earth.’

And there are still many planets lurking in the data collected by the Kepler space telescope.

The announcement of Kepler-186f is just a tantalising hint at the number of
habitable worlds that could be awaiting our discovery.

'One of the steps along the road to answering “Are we alone?” is finding worlds
such as Kepler-186f that look like the one planet that we know is inhabited,'
Barclay concludes


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2607079/Have-finally-EARTH-2-0-Astronomers-discover-planet-support-ALIEN-LIFE.html#ixzz2zB0tjUGC
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http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?70607-Most-Earth-like-planet-yet-spotted-by-Kepler-Have-we-finally-found-EARTH-2.0&p=823991#post823991

[Ahnung-quay]

Ben Anderson had a good take on this recorded on his nightly update last night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZogoaI0Clj8

NASA has been doing this kind of thing for years, reporting the same news redundantly. It used to be that it was every five-to-ten years; now it's months between reports.