NASA's Kepler Mission has discovered 54 planet candidates that orbit in the habitable zone of their host star; this so-called "Goldilocks" region is "not too hot or too cold, but just right" for the possible existence of liquid water on the surface of a planet. Four of those candidates are near Earth-sized planets in orbit around small, cool stars. The findings, discussed at a news conference held Feb. 2 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, are based on data collected by the space telescope between May and September, 2009. Ground-based observatories will be used this spring and summer to help determine if these candidates can be validated as planets.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Kepler Locates 54 "Goldilocks" ExoPlanets
NASA's Kepler Mission has discovered 54 planet candidates that orbit in the habitable zone of their host star; this so-called "Goldilocks" region is "not too hot or too cold, but just right" for the possible existence of liquid water on the surface of a planet. Four of those candidates are near Earth-sized planets in orbit around small, cool stars. The findings, discussed at a news conference held Feb. 2 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, are based on data collected by the space telescope between May and September, 2009. Ground-based observatories will be used this spring and summer to help determine if these candidates can be validated as planets.
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