NASA DISCOVERS EARTH-LIKE PLANET

Discovery Accelerates Question 
of Life Beyond Earth

Source:  NASA Artist Rendering

Planet Kepler-1649c
Have astronomers found another
Earth?  A team of 
international astronomers have
discovered a planet the same size
as the Earth.  Like the Earth,
the planet orbits its Sun Star.
This exoplanet is called Kepler-1649c.

Habitable
The planet seems to have
habitable regions.  It is 
orbiting in its star's habitable
zone.  That is a region around
the star where a rocky planet
could support water.

Remarkable Discovery
The scientists discovered the
Earth-like planet while using
reanalyzed data from NASA's
Kepler space telescope. Kepler
was retired in 2018.  Previous
scans of the data with a computer
algorithm misidentified the
space object.  Astronomers taking
a hard look recognized it to be
a planet.

Space Specifics
The planet is 300 light years
away from the Earth.  Of all the
exoplanets discovered by 
Kepler, this one is most similar
to Earth in size and in 
temperature.  The amount of
light it receives from its star
is 75% of what the Earth
receives from the Sun.  However
one big difference is that the
planet's star is a "Red Dwarf",
which are known for stellar 
flareups.  That could make 
life on the planet a challenge.

Amazing Discoveries
According to NASA Asso.
Director Thomas Zurbuchen,
this discovery gives us greater
hope than ever "that a second
Earth lies among the stars."
He adds, even more amazing
discoveries are on the
horizon.

Information Resource
To browse my recent books
on space and breakthrough
innovations, go to
amazon.com/author/ekane

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