Kepler Finds Five More Exoplanets 102
Arvisp was one of several readers to send news of five new exoplanets discovered by the Kepler space telescope. In addition to the new "hot Jupiters" — the easiest targets to find — Kepler's early data has turned up some oddities, including something that is too hot to be a planet and too small to be a star. And one of the exoplanets is so fluffy that "it has the density of Styrofoam." The real news is that Kepler works as designed, and the scientists running it are fully confident that it will find Earth-like planets in some star's habitable zone, if they are out there to be found. Here is NASA's press release.
Due diligence (Score:5, Funny)
something that is too hot to be a planet and too small to be a star
And I'm guessing they've already ruled out the obvious [wikipedia.org]?
Re:But Why? (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah,uh... (Score:5, Funny)
The one with the density of styrofoam actually is styrofoam. Thats the one I worked so hard on my sophomore year for Mr. Nixs earth science class.
It turned up missing and I got a D for the quarter. I actually don't need it anymore so you're welcome to use it as a planet or whatever.
I doubt it will sustain life, but it will hold a hatpin, which I suspended it from.
WooHoo! (Score:3, Funny)
Now we might actually have a chance of finding intelligent life in the universe!
And if we can get them to come to Earth, we could even have intelligent life on Earth!
Re:In the 80"s i was promised (Score:3, Funny)
Dude, chill. Check a couple stories back and you'll see they're just getting around to the flying cars everyone was promised would be here by now back in the 50s and you're bitching about 80s promises!
Relax and check back in another 20-30 years.
Re:But Why? (Score:2, Funny)
Why bicker? We know what was meant, get a life.
Re:But Why? (Score:4, Funny)
Actually...yeah. I mean, assuming the image is any good. How'd you manage to keep the chromatic and spherical aberration bearable at that aperature?
Re:But Why? (Score:2, Funny)