Kepler has discovered plenty of Earth-like planets before, but the one announced by NASA today takes the cake when it comes to known Earth-a-likes that we're aware of. It's being called Kepler-452b, and it checks off all the boxes: it's near-Earth sized, it's in its host star's habitable zone, and perhaps most uniquely, its host star bears close resemblance to our own Sun.
John Grunsfeld is an associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA HQ, and he's particularly psyched about the timing of this find: "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 ... This exciting result brings us one step closer to finding an Earth 2.0."
According to NASA, Kepler-452b can be described as super-Earth, with a diameter 60% larger than Earth's. Given the fact that it's 5 percent further from its host star, it has an orbit just 5% longer than Earth's — 385 days. The host star itself is 1.5 billion years older than the Sun, and has a near-identical temperature. The star's brightness exceeds the Sun's by 20%, and its diameter is just slightly larger than the Sun's, by 10%.
Jon Jenkins lead the data analysis at NASA's Ames Research Center, and he sheds some light on the significance of Kepler-452b, “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 ... It’s awe-inspiring to consider that this planet has spent 6 billion years in the habitable zone of its star; longer than Earth. That’s substantial opportunity for life to arise, should all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet.”
While upcoming telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope will be equipped with the capabilities of analyzing exoplanet atmospheres in search of life-compatible signs, it'll be a long time until we're able to analyze Kepler-452b. These telescopes will only have a range of tens of lightyears, rather than the 1,400 light year range that would be necessary to really dive into the Kepler system. Still, Grunsfeld is optimistic about the new information."Kepler 452b is one small step in answering the question [of are we alone] today."
Share
Tweet
