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| The planet lies about 15% closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun |
Astronomers accept accepted the actuality of an Earth-like planet in the "habitable zone" about a brilliant not clashing our own.
The planet, Kepler 22-b, lies about 600 light-years abroad and is about 2.4 times the admeasurement of Earth, and has a temperature of about 22C.
It is the abutting accepted planet yet to one like ours - an "Earth 2.0".
However, the aggregation does not yet apperceive if Kepler 22-b is fabricated mostly of rock, gas or liquid.
During the appointment at which the aftereffect was announced, the Kepler aggregation said that it had spotted some 1,094 new applicant planets.
The Kepler amplitude telescope was advised to attending at a anchored bind of the night sky, staring attentively at about 150,000 stars. The telescope is acute abundant to see if a planet passes in foreground of its host star, concealment the star's ablaze by a atomic amount.
Kepler identifies these slight changes in starlight as applicant planets, which are again accepted by added observations by Kepler and added telescopes in apogee and on Earth.
Kepler 22-b was one of 54 candidates appear by the Kepler aggregation in February, and is just the aboriginal to be formally accepted application added telescopes.
More of these "Earth 2.0" candidates are acceptable to be accepted in the abreast future, admitting a redefinition of the accouter zone's boundaries has brought that amount down to 48.
Kepler 22-b lies at a ambit from its sun about 15% beneath than the ambit from the Earth to the Sun, and its year takes about 290 days. However, its sun puts out about 25% beneath light, befitting the planet at its mild temperature that would abutment the actuality of aqueous water.
The Kepler aggregation had to delay for three passes of the planet afore advancement its cachet from "candidate" to "confirmed".
"Fortune smiled aloft us with the apprehension of this planet," said William Borucki, Kepler arch investigator at Nasa's Ames Research Center.
"The aboriginal alteration was captured just three canicule afterwards we declared the aircraft operationally ready. We witnessed the defining third alteration over the 2010 anniversary season."
The after-effects were appear at the Kepler telescope's aboriginal science conference, alongside the amazing amount of new applicant planets. The absolute amount of candidates spotted by the telescope is now 2,326 - of which 207 are about Earth-sized.
In total, the after-effects advance that planets alignment from Earth-sized to about four times Earth's admeasurement - alleged "super-Earths" - may be added accepted than ahead thought.
Source From BBC News
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