{"id":34763,"date":"2011-01-10T13:46:59","date_gmt":"2011-01-10T18:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fredbortz.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=34763"},"modified":"2011-07-12T22:35:31","modified_gmt":"2011-07-12T22:35:31","slug":"smallest-extrasolar-planet-a-rocky-world-1-4-x-earths-size","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/fredbortz\/34763\/smallest-extrasolar-planet-a-rocky-world-1-4-x-earths-size\/","title":{"rendered":"Smallest extrasolar planet: A rocky world 1.4 x Earth&#8217;s size"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m excited by this news release, especially as it connects to my <A HREF=\"http:\/\/www.fredbortz.com\/Astrobiology.htm\">&#8220;Cool Science&#8221; book, <em>Astrobiology<\/em><\/A> and <A HREF=\"http:\/\/www.fredbortz.com\/daywithnextplanet.htm\">my school visit talk and upcoming book <em>Our Next Planet<\/em><\/A>.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>January 10, 2011<\/p>\n<p>Contacts:<br \/>\nTrent J. Perrotto<br \/>\nHeadquarters, Washington<br \/>\n+1 202-358-0321<br \/>\ntrent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov<\/p>\n<p>Rachel Hoover<br \/>\nAmes Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.<br \/>\n+1 650-604-0643<br \/>\nrachel.hoover@nasa.gov<\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019S KEPLER MISSION DISCOVERS ITS FIRST ROCKY PLANET<\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s Kepler mission confirmed the discovery of its first rocky<br \/>\nplanet, named Kepler-10b. Measuring 1.4 times the size of Earth, it is<br \/>\nthe smallest planet ever discovered outside our solar system.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery of this so-called exoplanet is based on more than eight<br \/>\nmonths of data collected by the spacecraft from May 2009 to early<br \/>\nJanuary 2010.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of Kepler\u2019s best capabilities have converged to yield the first<br \/>\nsolid evidence of a rocky planet orbiting a star other than our sun,\u201d<br \/>\nsaid Natalie Batalha, Kepler\u2019s deputy science team lead at NASA\u2019s Ames<br \/>\nResearch Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and primary author of a<br \/>\npaper on the discovery accepted by the Astrophysical Journal. \u201cThe<br \/>\nKepler team made a commitment in 2010 about finding the telltale<br \/>\nsignatures of small planets in the data, and it\u2019s beginning to pay<br \/>\noff.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kepler\u2019s ultra-precise photometer measures the tiny decrease in a<br \/>\nstar\u2019s brightness that occurs when a planet crosses in front of it.<br \/>\nThe size of the planet can be derived from these periodic dips in<br \/>\nbrightness. The distance between the planet and the star is calculated<br \/>\nby measuring the time between successive dips as the planet orbits the<br \/>\nstar.<\/p>\n<p>Kepler is the first NASA mission capable of finding Earth-size planets<br \/>\nin or near the habitable zone, the region in a planetary system where<br \/>\nliquid water can exist on the planet\u2019s surface. However, since it<br \/>\norbits once every 0.84 days, Kepler-10b is more than 20 times closer<br \/>\nto its star than Mercury is to our sun and not in the habitable zone.<\/p>\n<p>Kepler-10 was the first star identified that could potentially harbor<br \/>\na small transiting planet, placing it at the top of the list for<br \/>\nground-based observations with the W.M. Keck Observatory 10-meter<br \/>\ntelescope in Hawaii.<\/p>\n<p>Scientists waiting for a signal to confirm Kepler-10b as a planet were<br \/>\nnot disappointed. Keck was able to measure tiny changes in the star\u2019s<br \/>\nspectrum, called Doppler shifts, caused by the telltale tug exerted by<br \/>\nthe orbiting planet on the star.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe discovery of Kepler 10-b is a significant milestone in the search<br \/>\nfor planets similar to our own,\u201d said Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program<br \/>\nscientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cAlthough this planet is<br \/>\nnot in the habitable zone, the exciting find showcases the kinds of<br \/>\ndiscoveries made possible by the mission and the promise of many more<br \/>\nto come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Knowledge of the planet is only as good as the knowledge of the star<br \/>\nit orbits. Because Kepler-10 is one of the brighter stars being<br \/>\ntargeted by Kepler, scientists were able to detect high frequency<br \/>\nvariations in the star\u2019s brightness generated by stellar oscillations,<br \/>\nor starquakes. This analysis allowed scientists to pin down<br \/>\nKepler-10b\u2019s properties.<\/p>\n<p>There is a clear signal in the data arising from light waves that<br \/>\ntravel within the interior of the star. Kepler Asteroseismic Science<br \/>\nConsortium scientists use the information to better understand the<br \/>\nstar, just as earthquakes are used to learn about Earth\u2019s interior<br \/>\nstructure. As a result of this analysis, Kepler-10 is one of the most<br \/>\nwell characterized planet-hosting stars in the universe.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s good news for the team studying Kepler-10b. Accurate stellar<br \/>\nproperties yield accurate planet properties. In the case of<br \/>\nKepler-10b, the picture that emerges is of a rocky planet with a mass<br \/>\n4.6 times that of Earth and with an average density of 8.8 grams per<br \/>\ncubic centimeter &#8212; similar to that of an iron dumbbell.<\/p>\n<p>                          # # #<\/p>\n<p>Ames manages Kepler\u2019s ground system development, mission operations<br \/>\nand science data analysis. NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in<br \/>\nPasadena, Calif., managed Kepler mission development.<\/p>\n<p>Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo., developed the<br \/>\nKepler flight system and supports mission operations with the<br \/>\nLaboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of<br \/>\nColorado in Boulder. The Space Telescope Science Institute in<br \/>\nBaltimore archives, hosts and distributes the Kepler science data.<\/p>\n<p>Kepler is NASA\u2019s 10th Discovery Mission and is funded by NASA\u2019s<br \/>\nScience Mission Directorate at the agency\u2019s headquarters.<\/p>\n<p>More information about the Kepler mission:<br \/>\nhttp:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/kepler<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m excited by this news release, especially as it connects to my &#8220;Cool Science&#8221; book, Astrobiology and my school visit talk and upcoming book Our Next Planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,17,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astrobiology","category-planetary-science","category-space-and-astronomy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - 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