Kepler Myths

A red dwarf star’s HZ, for example, would be much closer to the star itself compared with that of our sun. It is also important to determine the planet’s size and mass, which is imperative in deciding whether it can sustain an atmosphere. Maintaining an atmosphere is essential for life to exist and small a planet with a small gravitational force at its surface may not be capable of retaining one. The Kepler transit data can only measure planet masses, diameters, orbital periods, and parent star types and although this information is useful for determining habitable zones, further data is required to determine true habitability. The latter can be done by studying the composition of the exoplanet’s atmosphere.

For Body 2 T^2/r^3 was 1.99E-5, for Body 3 it was 1.97E-5 and for Body 3 is was 1.97E-5. For Body 4 this was 1.85E-5. The data helps support the fact that the T^2/r^3 should be the same for all planets because the numbers were all relatively similar, especially for Bodies 2 and 3 which were identical and thus proved Kepler’s Law of Harmony, which states that T^2/r^3 should be the same for all planets orbiting the same central body.

As technology improves it is even more likely that we will discover more about our solar system. A great current example of this is the claim of ‘Planet X’. Researchers say that there is possibly another planet in our solar system that orbits beyond Neptune but is large in size. Two scientists recently announced evidence that a body nearly the size of Neptune that orbits the sun every 15,000 years. Since it has never been seen, because it only orbits every 15,000 years, scientists and researchers cannot make a factual claim on the body even though there is strong evidence of its

The exoplanet known as Kepler-453b is what is known as a circumbinary planet. A circumbinary planet is a planet that orbits two stars, and Kepler-453b is the tenth such planet discovered so far. It is a timely discovery not only because it was discovered at around the same time that news broke out of the world’s superpowers looking to make Star Wars a reality by waging war in space, but also because the real-life Tatooine was discovered by chance in a classic case of being in the right place at the right time.

In this paper I will explain how astronomers determine the composition, temperature, speed, and rotation rate of distant objects using various methods. I will explain the properties of stars. I will also summarize the complete lifecycle of the Sun and determine where the Sun is currently in its lifecycle.

This implies that the Kepler 11 planetary system is very much like our solar system. The distance (m) of Kepler-11b

The Kepler Mission (NASA Discover mission #10) is designed to survey a portion of the Milky Way galaxy to discover Earth-size planets in or near the habitable zone and determine how many of our galaxy’s billions of stars have such planets. Results from this mission will allow the placing of our solar system within the continuum of planetary systems in the galaxy.

Outer space is a realm of new discoveries and possibilities. There is one particular planet in our solar system that is brimming with these possibilities. However, for nine years it has not actually been considered a planet. The “dwarf planet”, Pluto, has been overlooked and misrepresented in astronomy and planetary science. Since being demoted from planet status to dwarf planet status, little Pluto has raised some big questions about what defines a planet and what does not. In this paper, I will attempt to persuade you that Pluto should be promoted back to its original planet status. First, I will give you a brief history of Pluto, from its discovery to what prompted its reclassification. Next, I will explain the definition of a planet as given by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the definition’s flaws. Finally, I will discuss the recent discoveries of the New Horizons mission and how these new discoveries should lead to the reclassification of Pluto to its original planet status.

Lee Billings' article in Scientific American, "Do 3 Habitable Super-Earths Really Orbit a Nearby Star?", reports on the possible discovery of additional planets by multiple sources. The planets in question orbit the Gliese 667 C star, and were detected by a team of astronomers composed of Gulliem Anglada-Escuede of Germany's Gottingen and by Hertfordshire's Mikko Tuomi, as well as by Philip Gregory in Canada. Both of these respective researchers utilized data from the HARPS spectrograph to study 7 planets orbiting the star, three of which may be able to sustain life. The researchers used HARPS data with statistical processes to discern the fact that the planets produced a "wobble" (Billings) on the star, which indicated that they could be actual planets.

much a star wobbles or goes around the centre of gravity of the exoplanet and star, the violent wobbles must conclude that 51 Pegasi b is a Jupiter sized exoplanet. Hd209458 b is also a Jupiter sized exoplanet, which may have been determined using the calculation or the wobble method, having similar affects to its host stars light spectrum as 51 Pegasi b has on its host star. Astronomers are unsure whether the exoplanet named Kepler 22b is a larger Earth or more of a mini Neptune, as it is boarder line between a rocky planet and a gas dwarf.

Parenago 1802, a member of the ∼1 Myr Orion Nebula Cluster, is a double-lined, detached eclipsing binary in a 4.674 d orbit, with equal-mass components (M2/M1=0.985±0.029). Here we present extensive V IC JHKS light curves spanning ∼15 yr, as well as a Keck/HIRES optical spectrum. The light curves evince a third light source that is variable with a period of 0.73 d, and is also manifested in the high-resolution spectrum, strongly indicating the presence of a third star in the system, probably a rapidly rotating classical T Tauri star. We incorporate this third light into our radial velocity and light curve modeling of the eclipsing pair, measuring accurate masses (M1=0.391±0.032, M2=0.385±0.032 M⊙), radii (R1=1.73±0.02, R2=1.62±0.02 R⊙), and temperature ratio (Teff,1/Teff,2=1.0924±0.0017). Thus the radii of the eclipsing stars differ by 6.9±0.8%, the temperatures differ by 9.2±0.2%, and consequently the luminosities differ by 62±3%, despite having masses equal to within 3%. This could be indicative of an age difference of ∼ 3 × 105 yr between the two eclipsing stars, perhaps a vestige of the binary formation history. We find that the eclipsing pair is in an orbit that has not yet fully circularized,

Barucci, M. A., Boehnhardt, H., Cruikshank, D. P., Morbidelli, A. and Renee Dotson: 2008, The Solar System Beyond Neptune, University of Arizona Press.

Currently, there is only one planet we know of to host life, and that is our home planet Earth. The question remains as to what is exactly needed for a planet to be considered habitable, but scientists have developed a handful of criteria to help distinguish what planets could be “just right” for life. The ongoing search for possible habitable planets has produced many remarkable findings but nothing quite as extraordinary as the discovery of the system Trappist-1. According to nasa.gov, it is the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star, and it meets the criteria to possibly sustain life (“NASA Telescope Reveals” p.1). This discovery poses a likely answer to the question “are we alone” and drives our search for finding out more about what is out there.

In today's world, we have very advanced technology. There have been many new technological and medical advancements as we entered the new century. The Internet allows us to shop, talk, and find valuable information on very scarce topics, and even check stocks with a simple click of a button. Medical advancements had recently been discovered on "The Human Genome Projects," the first gene was mapped and within a short period of time we will have mapped out all the genes in a human chromosome. This is absolutely amazing because we will now be able to reveal the many causes of serious deadly diseases. Throughout the years, we have gained the technology to send astronauts into space to gather new information about our

The radial velocity method was used to detect the first exoplanet, 51 Pegasi b (51 Peg b) around a main sequence star, 51 Pegasi (51 Peg). The radial velocity method uses the variations in velocity of a star due to the gravitational pull from an exoplanet (Lissauer 2002). Furthermore the velocity isn’t measured in terms of actual speed but in terms of light based on the Doppler effect. The Doppler effect occurs when a star moves. When it moves toward us, its wavelengths of light are shortened and when a star moves away from us, its wavelengths of light are lengthened. Through the continued observation of the Doppler effect on a stars spectrum of light, the velocity of a star is inferred. Any change in a stars velocity is caused by a sufficiently massive companion, an exoplanet (Lissaeur 2002).