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Kepler space telescope4/27/2023 ![]() The system has another rocky planet of about the same size, but it orbits the star at about half the distance of Kepler-1649c, similar to how Venus orbits our Sun at about half the distance that Earth does. Kepler-1649c orbits its small red dwarf star so closely that a year on Kepler-1649c is equivalent to only 19.5 Earth days. “If we hadn’t looked over the algorithm’s work by hand, we would have missed it.” “Out of all the mislabeled planets we’ve recovered, this one’s particularly exciting – not just because it’s in the habitable zone and Earth-size, but because of how it might interact with this neighboring planet,” said Andrew Vanderburg, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin and first author on the paper released today in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. But there is no other exoplanet that is considered to be closer to Earth in both of these values that also lies in the habitable zone of its system. Others may be closer to Earth in temperature, such as TRAPPIST-1d and TOI 700d. There are other exoplanets estimated to be closer to Earth in size, such as TRAPPIST-1f and, by some calculations, Teegarden c. But based on what is known, Kepler-1649c is especially intriguing for scientists looking for worlds with potentially habitable conditions. Current calculations of the planet’s size have significant margins of error, as do all values in astronomy when studying objects so far away. ![]() There is still much that is unknown about Kepler-1649c, including its atmosphere, which could affect the planet’s temperature. “The data gathered by missions like Kepler and our Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite will continue to yield amazing discoveries as the science community refines its abilities to look for promising planets year after year.” “This intriguing, distant world gives us even greater hope that a second Earth lies among the stars, waiting to be found,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Though none have been observed in this system, this type of star is known for stellar flare-ups that may make a planet’s environment challenging for any potential life. Also, the amount of starlight it receives from its host star is 75% of the amount of light Earth receives from our Sun – meaning the exoplanet’s temperature may be similar to our planet’s as well.īut unlike Earth, it orbits a red dwarf. This newly revealed world is only 1.06 times larger than our own planet. Out of all the exoplanets found by Kepler, this distant world – located 300 light-years from Earth – is most similar to Earth in size and estimated temperature.
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