From infinity and beyond Washington - Arabstoday The first planet that can be considered a true \"alien Earth\" will probably be discovered in the next two years, a NASA scientist says. Astronomers have so far found more than 750 so-called \"exoplanets\" orbiting distant stars, and NASA\'s Kepler Space Telescope has identified 2,300 possible \"candidates\" that will require analysis and further study, but an Earth-like exoplanet has yet to be found. Such a planet would be the size of Earth and orbit its star in the \"Goldilocks\" zone, a distance \"just right\" to make liquid water, and thus possibly life, possible. \"I believe Kepler will find a \'Goldilocks planet\' within the next two years,\" said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, a researcher at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \"We\'ll be able to point at a specific star in the night sky and say \'There it is - a planet that could support life!\'\" Such a faraway Earth-like planet would be small and faint, difficult to detect as its dim light would be overwhelmed by the bright glare of its star. But an indirect approach, called transit spectroscopy, could reveal a lot about such a planet, researchers said. The technique analyzes starlight bouncing off the atmosphere of an alien planet that would carry information astronomers can analyze to learn about its composition. \"The reflected light of an exoplanet tells its story,\" Doug Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA Headquarters, told SPACE.com
GMT 10:08 2018 Wednesday ,24 January
Microsoft to open 4 data centresGMT 06:12 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Instagram, Google+ join EU groupGMT 05:06 2018 Monday ,22 January
Rocket Lab successfully sends rocketGMT 09:03 2018 Sunday ,21 January
Europe's space agency bracesGMT 06:19 2018 Sunday ,21 January
A fake news article reportsGMT 04:17 2018 Saturday ,20 January
Google, Tencent eye collaborationGMT 06:00 2018 Friday ,19 January
Australia lifesaving drone makes first rescueGMT 07:36 2018 Thursday ,18 January
French glitches put technology under reviewMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor