|
NASA Finds Planet Orbiting Two Suns 'Star Wars' Style |
|
|
 (RTTNews) - Scientists may have found that place far, far away where a long time ago a band of rebels fought the evil empire.
In a study published this month in the journal Science, NASA astronomer Laurance Doyle and his team described the discovery of a Saturn-sized cold planet that is about half rock and half gas - one that orbits two stars in what is termed as a circumbinary orbit. The planet detected by Kepler and named Kepler-16b is 200 light-years from Earth.
The existence of such a planet may not surprise connoisseurs of science fiction. The universe described in the Star Wars movies already has a similar planet - Tatooine, the home world of the chief protagonist Luke Skywalker.
Since its launch in March 2009, the Kepler mission, which utilizes a
photometer to measure the brightness of stars when planets transit
across them, has already brought to light planets with unusual
characteristics. Data from Kepler were crucial to the discovery of the
"darkest known" planet: TrES-2b, and the "invisible" planet Kepler-19c.
The Kepler mission is designed with the capability of discovering
Earth-like planets that may be in the "habitable zone," or capable of
sustaining life. It works by studying the variations in brightness as
the planet crosses across its parent star. Kepler-16b was similarly
discovered by observing that the two stars, as seen from Earth, eclipsed
each other, but their brightness was also diminished in other
circumstances not involving an eclipse. This hinted at a third stellar
body, and studies of its movement and mass helped establish that it was a
planet that moved about the two stars.
Both the stars in the system are smaller than Earth's Sun - one has a
mass that is 69 percent that of the Sun, while the other is much smaller
and has just 20 percent the Sun's mass. Kepler-16b takes 229 days to
complete its orbit around the two stars, but falls beyond the habitable
zone of the binary system. Further, the stars have lower temperature
than our Sun, which reduces the probability of finding liquid water
existing on Kepler-16b's surface.
While Kepler-16b is "inhospitable," the predominance of binary star
systems means that there is a likelihood of planets that move in an
orbit similar to that of Kepler-16b, and consequent is the possibility
that such planets may be capable of bearing life. William Borucki,
principal investigator for the Kepler mission, expressed precisely this
view saying "This discovery confirms a new class of planetary systems
that could harbor life." Calling the discovery a "milestone," Borucki
said it confirmed a "theory that scientists have had for decades."
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
