July
23, 2015
NASA's Kepler mission
has confirmed the first near-Earth-size planet in the “habitable zone” around a
sun-like star. This discovery and the introduction of 11 other new small
habitable zone candidate planets mark another milestone in the journey to
finding another “Earth.”
The newly discovered
Kepler-452b is the smallest planet to date discovered orbiting in the habitable
zone -- the area around a star where liquid water could pool on the surface of
an orbiting planet -- of a G2-type star, like our sun. The confirmation of
Kepler-452b brings the total number of confirmed planets to 1,030.
"On the 20th
anniversary year of the discovery that proved other suns host
planets, the Kepler exoplanet explorer has discovered a planet and
star which most closely resemble the Earth and our Sun," said John
Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate at the
agency’s headquarters in Washington. “This exciting result brings us one step
closer to finding an Earth 2.0."Kepler-452b is 60 percent larger in
diameter than Earth and is considered a super-Earth-size planet. While its mass
and composition are not yet determined, previous research suggests that planets
the size of Kepler-452b have a good chance of being rocky.
While Kepler-452b is
larger than Earth, its 385-day orbit is only 5 percent longer. The planet is 5
percent farther from its parent star Kepler-452 than Earth is from the Sun.
Kepler-452 is 6 billion years old, 1.5 billion years older than our sun, has
the same temperature, and is 20 percent brighter and has a diameter 10 percent
larger.
“We can think of
Kepler-452b as an older, bigger cousin to Earth, providing an
opportunity to understand and reflect upon Earth’s evolving environment,"
said Jon Jenkins, Kepler data analysis lead at NASA's Ames
Research Center
in Moffett Field , California
To help confirm the
finding and better determine the properties of the Kepler-452 system, the team
conducted ground-based observations at the University
of Texas at Austin 's
McDonald Observatory, the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mt.
Hopkins , Arizona , and the W. M.
Keck Observatory atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii
The Kepler-452 system
is located 1,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. The research
paper reporting this finding has been accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal.
Structure of the Lead
Who- NASA’s, Kepler-452b(Earth
2.0)
When- July 23, 2015
What- NASA found a planet
which looks like our Earth..
Why- To find earth-like
planets..
Where- Solar system
How- By sending Kepler to out
space.
Keywords：
1. habitable (a.)適合居住的
2. orbit (v.)環軌道運行 (n.)軌道;(人生)旅程
3. exoplanet
(n.)外星球
4.
administrator (n.)管理者
5. headquarter
(v.)設總部於…
6. diameter
(n.)直徑;放大率
7. composition
(n.)組成;成分
8. substantial
(a.)大量的;牢固的
9. planetary
(n.)行星
10.
constellation (n.)星座
It sounds a good news. But it is a pity that it's so far that we can't see it in our lves. The technology is really admirable ,and the universe is filled with magic. Maybe in one day in the future , our children will live in another planet.
回覆刪除Sounds like the Kepler-452b is an interesting planet, and there might be creatures on it. I am so excited and can't wait NASA to find any creature on that planet, and I except the creature will look similar to any creature on Earth because of the planet is similar to Earth.
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