Astronomers have just spotted a new planet approximately 22.5 light-years away from us! And the most exciting thing about this new planet is that it has three suns! Researchers say that it might be our best shot at encountering other life forms!
What excited researchers the most, is the fact that this planet seems to have an atmosphere! And that means that somewhere over there, there may be extraterrestrial life! What's more, the chances are high that soon, scientists will be able to confirm the existence of the atmosphere on the planet. They are full of hope because though the temperature on the planet seems way too hot, there's still a chance that something (or somebody) has adapted to these nightmarish conditions. So, are we going to meet our space neighbors any time soon?
SUMMARY: - TESS stands for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite: a NASA mission that’s been in search of planets orbiting the brightest stars of our galaxy since April 2018. - Astronomers hope that during the first two years of the satellite's operation, it’ll come across 10,000 unknown worlds. - So far, TESS has already located several planets, including the one with three suns. This new world has the catchy name of LTT 1445Ab. - Analyzing the data received from TESS, the satellite, astronomers concluded that the newly discovered world is boiling-hot on the surface, with temperatures rising as high as 320 degrees F. - In September 2011, astronomers discovered a world that eerily resembled Tatooine. The planet, dubbed Kepler-16b, consists of half rock and ice and half gas and orbits two closely located stars. - The climate on the Tatooine-like planet is quite chilly, even though it's closer to its parent stars than Earth is to the Sun. However, there's no mystery here: Kepler-16b's stars are less bright than our Sun. - Astronomers say that in this case, the only living beings on Earth might be some advanced life forms that came from somewhere else and managed to keep themselves warm after relocating to our planet. - Since Earth would be orbiting two stars, the year would become a bit longer. The thing is that the combined mass of the two stars Kepler-16b circles is 10% less than the mass of our Sun. - The stars would pass in front of each other once every 5 days, and every time, the eclipse would last for about 6 hours! - But the most amazing difference would be how the sky would look from the surface of the planet. The two suns wouldn't look very big, but they would be differently colored, and so close together they would almost look like they were touching. - Our Sun may have a companion, a theoretical white or brown dwarf star called Nemesis. - Right now, astronomers can't find any evidence that the dwarf star is accompanying our Sun somewhere up there. But according to a 2017 study, this star could exist in the very, very ancient past.
SUMMARY: - TESS stands for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite: a NASA mission that’s been in search of planets orbiting the brightest stars of our galaxy since April 2018. - Astronomers hope that during the first two years of the satellite's operation, it’ll come across 10,000 unknown worlds. - So far, TESS has already located several planets, including the one with three suns. This new world has the catchy name of LTT 1445Ab. - Analyzing the data received from TESS, the satellite, astronomers concluded that the newly discovered world is boiling-hot on the surface, with temperatures rising as high as 320 degrees F. - In September 2011, astronomers discovered a world that eerily resembled Tatooine. The planet, dubbed Kepler-16b, consists of half rock and ice and half gas and orbits two closely located stars. - The climate on the Tatooine-like planet is quite chilly, even though it's closer to its parent stars than Earth is to the Sun. However, there's no mystery here: Kepler-16b's stars are less bright than our Sun. - Astronomers say that in this case, the only living beings on Earth might be some advanced life forms that came from somewhere else and managed to keep themselves warm after relocating to our planet. - Since Earth would be orbiting two stars, the year would become a bit longer. The thing is that the combined mass of the two stars Kepler-16b circles is 10% less than the mass of our Sun. - The stars would pass in front of each other once every 5 days, and every time, the eclipse would last for about 6 hours! - But the most amazing difference would be how the sky would look from the surface of the planet. The two suns wouldn't look very big, but they would be differently colored, and so close together they would almost look like they were touching. - Our Sun may have a companion, a theoretical white or brown dwarf star called Nemesis. - Right now, astronomers can't find any evidence that the dwarf star is accompanying our Sun somewhere up there. But according to a 2017 study, this star could exist in the very, very ancient past.
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