Kepler-186 f is a habitable planet in the galaxy

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Kepler-186 f is a habitable planet in the galaxy
Kepler-186 f is a habitable planet in the galaxy
Anonim

Over the past few years, scientists have discovered hundreds of thousands of planets outside the solar system. Most of them are "hot Jupiters", large gas giants or "super-Earths", which are rocky planets much larger than Earth. All of them are completely unfit for existence. But more recently, in April 2014, scientists found Kepler-186 f. This is the first planet that is located at an optimal distance from the Sun, where there is a possibility of the existence of water, and therefore life.

Few facts

Since the discovery of the planet, scientists have already studied enough of the Earth's sister. It is known to be in the constellation Cygnus, 500 light-years away. It has also been proven that Kepler's size is very similar to that of Earth.

The planet revolves around a red dwarf, the most common type of star in our galaxy. The peculiarity is that it emits significantly less energy than the sun. So, if we compare sunlight on Earth and Kepler, the latter gets only 1/3 of the total.

The planet makes a full revolution around the red dwarf in 130 days, which suggests that the seasons there are rapidly changing. Unfortunately, at the moment the issue of temperature and composition of the planet's atmosphere is poorly understood.

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Kepler-186 f - Earth's twin

Scientists came to this statement by simulating the position of the planet in space on a computer, as well as its movement around its own axis. As a result, it became known that the axis of the "second Earth" is at an inclination of 23 degrees, just like ours. Consequently, Kepler does not swing in different directions, like, for example, Mars.

It is known that this indicator affects a number of indicators, namely:

  • systemic change of seasons;
  • even distribution of heat and light;
  • stable climatic situation.

All this proves that Kepler has favorable conditions for the emergence and maintenance of life.

Star relatives

The Kepler telescope was launched into orbit in 2009 and aimed at a specific section of the Milky Way. The search is carried out in a transit way - changes in the brightness of the stars are tracked. In addition to the twin planet Earth, the telescope found a number of other interesting objects:

  • Kepler-62f is located in the constellation Lyra, 1200 light years away. It has been proven that it is almost twice as heavy as the Earth, and a year in it consists of about 268 days. Also, scientists have come to the conclusion that it is much cooler there than on our planet.
  • On the other hand, Kepler-62e is very hot, as it is relatively close to the Sun. Heat on it is 20% more than on Earth. Also, this planet is almost 2 times larger than ours. There are 123 days here a year.

It is important to note that our solar system is 4.57 billion years old, and the Kepler-62 system is about 7, 5. In addition, the planets have all the conditions for existence. Thanks to this, one can assume the thought that this system also has life.

Based on materials from Science & Technology magazine

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