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SCIENCE
Are We Alone?
The discovery of new Earthlike planets boosts the odds that alien life could exist
JANUARY 09, 2015
By Laura Blackburn
T. PYLE/JPL-CALTECH/NASA AMES
Scientists have discovered new planets similar to Earth.
There’s good news for people hoping that Earth is not the only inhabited world in the universe. A team of astronomers announced on
January 6 that they have identified eight planets beyond our solar system. The scientists say three or four of those planets orbit in their
stars’ “Goldilocks Zone”—the region where temperatures are not too hot and not too cold for water to exist in liquid form. Water is a
necessary ingredient for life as we know it.
The scientists, led by Dr. Guillermo Torres of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, made the discoveries using data
collected by the planet-seeking Kepler telescope.
Eye on the Stars
NASA launched Kepler in 2009. Since then, the telescope has identified more than
1,000 planets outside of our solar system. Torres and his team analyzed the data about
the eight newly discovered worlds to determine which ones are most likely to be similar
to Earth.
Among the new discoveries, the scientists say the planets called Kepler 438b and 442b
are the closest to Earth. Kepler 438b is just about 10% larger than our planet, and gets
40% more of its energy from its star than Earth receives from the Sun. Temperatures
there would be about 140 degrees. Kepler 442b is about 33% larger than Earth, but
receives 30% less energy from its star. That would make it a potentially chillier world
than our own. Torres says it is possible for life to exist and survive in either of those
temperatures. But for that to happen, these planets would need to have another key
ingredient for life: a heat-trapping atmosphere like Earth’s.
CARTER ROBERTS/NASA AMES
This image shows the Kepler telescope’s field of
view superimposed on the night sky.
NASA
A Lot Left to Learn
While these findings add to the possibility that life exists beyond Earth, Torres cautions
against drawing conclusions. “We’re not claiming they’re inhabited,” he says. In fact,
these planets are so far away that scientists cannot observe them directly. For now, it
remains unknown whether these planets contain life. But the discovery of planets in their
stars’ habitable zones suggests that somewhere out there, some form of alien life may
have taken hold.
Of the more than 1,000 verified planets found by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, only eight are less than
twice the size of Earth and located within their stars' habitable zone. These planets orbit stars cooler and
smaller than our sun.
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SCIENCE
Are We Alone?
The discovery of new Earthlike planets boosts the odds that alien life could exist
JANUARY 09, 2015
By Laura Blackburn
T. PYLE/JPL-CALTECH/NASA AMES
Scientists have discovered new planets similar to Earth.
There’s good news for people hoping that Earth is not the only inhabited world in the universe. A team of astronomers announced on
January 6 that they have identified eight planets beyond our solar system. The scientists say three or four of those planets orbit in their
stars’ “Goldilocks Zone”—the region where temperatures are not too hot and not too cold for water to exist in liquid form. Water is a
necessary ingredient for life as we know it.
The scientists, led by Dr. Guillermo Torres of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, made the discoveries using data
collected by the planet-seeking Kepler telescope.
Eye on the Stars
NASA launched Kepler in 2009. Since then, the telescope has identified more than
1,000 planets outside of our solar system. Torres and his team analyzed the data about
the eight newly discovered worlds to determine which ones are most likely to be similar
to Earth.
Among the new discoveries, the scientists say the planets called Kepler 438b and 442b
are the closest to Earth. Kepler 438b is just about 10% larger than our planet, and gets
40% more of its energy from its star than Earth receives from the Sun. Temperatures
there would be about 140 degrees. Kepler 442b is about 33% larger than Earth, but
receives 30% less energy from its star. That would make it a potentially chillier world
than our own. Torres says it is possible for life to exist and survive in either of those
temperatures. But for that to happen, these planets would need to have another key
ingredient for life: a heat-trapping atmosphere like Earth’s.
CARTER ROBERTS/NASA AMES
This image shows the Kepler telescope’s field of
view superimposed on the night sky.
NASA
A Lot Left to Learn
While these findings add to the possibility that life exists beyond Earth, Torres cautions
against drawing conclusions. “We’re not claiming they’re inhabited,” he says. In fact,
these planets are so far away that scientists cannot observe them directly. For now, it
remains unknown whether these planets contain life. But the discovery of planets in their
stars’ habitable zones suggests that somewhere out there, some form of alien life may
have taken hold.
Of the more than 1,000 verified planets found by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, only eight are less than
twice the size of Earth and located within their stars' habitable zone. These planets orbit stars cooler and
smaller than our sun.