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Q&A: An Earth-like planet with two suns?
Confirmed
In Short: Recent studies indicate that a planet's magnetic field, which shields Earth from harmful radiation, is also a key characteristic for identifying Earth-like worlds.
NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered a new planet, Kepler-16b, which may be orbiting two stars, similar to the fictional planet Tatooine from 'Star Wars.
The planet was identified by observing dips in starlight as Kepler-16b transits—or passes in front of—one of the stars, as seen from Earth.
According to a presentation at the American Astronomical Society meeting, researchers are defining the habitable zone around the stars, where a planet could potentially host liquid water.
However, the team notes that a planet closer to the brighter star might have been ejected from its orbit due to gravitational interactions with other objects.
The models suggest a planet orbiting 88 million miles from the stars could maintain a stable orbit and retain enough heat for liquid water, if it has a thick atmosphere of heat-trapping gases.
Future missions, like NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), will use advanced instruments to analyze the chemical makeup of distant planets and detect new exoplanets.
WFIRST's wide-field camera will look for stars that periodically dim as planets pass in front of them, aiding in the search for habitable worlds.
What's confirmed
- NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered a new planet, Kepler-16b, which may be orbiting two stars, similar to the fictional planet Tatooine from 'Star Wars.
- The planet was identified by observing dips in starlight as Kepler-16b transits—or passes in front of—one of the stars, as seen from Earth.
- According to a presentation at the American Astronomical Society meeting, researchers are defining the habitable zone around the stars, where a planet could potentially host liquid water.
- However, the team notes that a planet closer to the brighter star might have been ejected from its orbit due to gravitational interactions with other objects.
- The models suggest a planet orbiting 88 million miles from the stars could maintain a stable orbit and retain enough heat for liquid water, if it has a thick atmosphere of heat-trapping gases.
- Future missions, like NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), will use advanced instruments to analyze the chemical makeup of distant planets and detect new exoplanets.
- WFIRST's wide-field camera will look for stars that periodically dim as planets pass in front of them, aiding in the search for habitable worlds.
What's still developing
- A new planet found last fall may be orbiting two stars, but it's far from a real-life Tatooine.
- The results suggest that a planet around 88 million miles from the stars—outside the orbit of the existing Saturn-like world—could maintain a stable orbit. (Also see "New Planet May Be Among Most Earthlike—Weather Permitting." ) That theoretical, far-flung world could retain enough heat for liquid water, Quarles said, if it has "a very drastic atmosphere" of heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
- An artist's depiction of the \"Tatooine\" planet Kepler-16b An artist's depiction of the "Tatooine" planet Kepler-16b NASA mission may be first to find alien moon, expert says.
- The group isn't yet ready to say whether a moon could have formed alongside the planet.
- For the longest time, astronomers merely thought an exoplanet in a star’s habitable zone was a sufficient criterion for an Earth-like world.
- In recent years, astronomers have recognized that a planet’s magnetic field, which shields the Earth from harmful radiation, could be a prime characteristic for identifying Earth-like worlds.
- For perspective, there's a dearth of discovered exoplanets around A-type stars.
- Detecting planets outside of our Solar System mostly relies on measuring minute changes in the light of distant stars.
- They are a diverse menagerie of mouthwatering worlds, including one that seems to be emitting a weirdly tantalizing signal, as well as Earth-like analogs bathed in the crimson light of dim, blood-hued red dwarfs.
- Astronomers may have just made another milestone discovery in the search for intrinsically intriguing worlds: the hottest star to potentially host a habitable-zone planet, a giant world named HD 156295 b.
- A second instrument, an experimental coronagraph with shape-shifting mirrors that can dim the glare of distant suns, will allow astronomers to analyze the light reflected from vastly dimmer Jupiter-size planets to tease out details about their chemical makeup.