Tag Archives: earth sized planets

Companion planets can increase old worlds’ chance at life

By Guest PostOctober 20, 2014Scienceastronomer, cosmos, earth sized planets, gravitational pull, habitable zone, innsbrucker wurms, julia wunderer, liquid water, peter ladurner, phenomenon, queen charlotte fairweather, rory barnes, undersea earthquake fault, university of arizona, university of washington

Having a companion in old age is good for people — and, it turns out, might extend the chance for life on certain Earth-sized planets in the cosmos as well.

Planets cool as they age. Over time their molten cores solidify and inner heat-generating activity dwindles, becoming less able to keep the world habitable by regulating carbon dioxide to prevent runaway heating or cooling. (more…)

NASA’s Kepler Mission Discovers Tiny Planet System

By Guest PostFebruary 22, 2013Science210 light years, ames research center, analyze, asteroseismic analysis, asteroseismology, astronomers, constellation lyra, data, earth, earth sized planets, earthquakes, geologists, habitable zone, high frequency oscillations, inhospitable worlds, interior structure, jack lissauer, kepler 37, kepler 37b, kepler 37c, kepler 37d, kepler mission, mercury, moffett field, NASA, orbiting our sun, orbiting planet, planets, rocky in composition, seismic waves, smallest planet, solar system, star, thomas barclay, tiny planet system

PASADENA, Calif. — NASA’s Kepler mission scientists have discovered a new planetary system that is home to the smallest planet yet found around a star similar to our sun.

The planets are located in a system called Kepler-37, about 210 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. The smallest planet, Kepler-37b, is slightly larger than our moon, measuring about one-third the size of Earth. It is smaller than Mercury, which made its detection a challenge. (more…)