Seven Dwarfs, err, Planets

Summary: In a brand new press release from NASA, the agency has announced a discovery of seven Earth-sized planets, in the habitable-zone, around a single star. This is the largest star system with such properties and I am excited. The discovery was made by the Spitzer Space Telescope and follow up with ground based observatories.

To be fair, only three of these planets are definitely in the habitable zone, but with the right atmospheric conditions, all seven are likely to have liquid water. This exoplanet system has been called TRAPPIST-1 and the densities show that all planets are likely to be rocky planets like the inner planets of our own solar system. Unlike our sun, this star is an ultra-cool dwarf star that allows all of these planets to be closer to their star than Mercury is to our star. With all of these planets being so close, it is possible that an individual standing on the surface of one planet may be able to look up at the sky and see geological features on the neighboring planet without the aid of binoculars. We can barely do this with our own moon despite how close it is.

If you wanted to visit this system, it is relatively close to us, at only 40 light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius. But until we invent better spacecraft we can only take advantage of the nearness by turning more telescopes to the system. Hubble and Kepler are doing follow-up observations and, when it launches, the James Webb Space Telescope will collect further data.

NASA press release
360 VR of exoplanet surface
Nature

Artist's conception of the system based on known diameters, masses, and orbital distances, NASA JPL, Caltech

Lava World

Summary: The data from Kepler has revealed another planet that would be brilliant inspiration of any sci-fi novel you are trying to write. This planet, Kepler 78b, is mostly rock and iron but extremely close to its host star. This, paired with the theory that it is tidally locked, means that it is reasonable to assume that that side of the planet is completely molten. With that side of the planet being between 2,000C and 2,800C, it is obviously too hot to support life. It is uncertain what the temperatures on the other side of the planet might be or how far down the molten layer goes. This planet is also an enigma because "according to current theories of planet formation, Kepler 78b could not have formed so close to its star, nor could it have moved there." As a bonus, it is also doomed to be slowly pulled closer and closer into it's star which will proceed to rip it apart.


BBC News
Nature

Seventh System

Summary: Astronomers have discovered a seventh planet are the dwarf star KIC 11442793 which, if confirmend, would be a record for a solar system other than our own. The star is 2,500 light years away and its planets orbit much closer than in our system. All seven planets orbit closer than the Earth does from our sun. This last planet was discovered by citizen scientists on Planet Hunters, a website that lets the public sift through Kepler's data to try to identify new planets.


BBC News

Over 1,000 Exoplanets

Summary: The tally of exoplanets has soared to 1,010 listed in the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. Out of all these, 12 have the potential to be habitable. This listing, though, is a little less reliable because not all of these planet discoveries have been peer-reviewed. NASA only counts those that have been published in an academic journal and thus their tally is currently at 919. Not to mention there is not a solid definition of what a planet is so some could be artefacts or low-mass stars like other candidates before them.


BBC News

Mapping Exoplanetary Clouds

Summary: If you thought meteorologists on Earth had it hard, check out what these NASA scientists have decided to tackle. They have recently mapped the clouds of the planet Kepler-7b almost 1,000 light years away. By using low-res images from Spitzer and Kepler they were able to compile a map of sorts. It was determined that the clear-reflective signature seen on parts of the images would be clouds. One of the interesting finds is that this planet seems to have a very stable climate with very little change over time.
This marks the beginning of a new era of exoplanetary study. No longer are we simply finding them and adding them to our list with a few details such as size, mass, and distance from their sun. We are now beginning to understand the planet itself.



BBC News

Retirement for Kepler

Summary: Kepler, once on a valiant mission to search for exoplanets, has now lost another wheel: one too many to continue its mission. At least three of the four wheels must be functional for it to maintain its pointing long enough to collect valid data. The vote is now up to spend NASA's money on maintaining the broken Kepler and using it to observe other astronomical events or to put the money to a future astrophysics mission. Keep in mind that Kepler has already fulfilled it minimum mission objections and there is still plenty if data to sort through.

BBC News

2 New Earths?

Summary: NASA scientists have found two new planets within the habitable zone of a star. These two planets, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f, are the most earth-like so far. Though they are too far away to study closer with our current telescope technology, in the future we may be able to determine if these planets do indeed contain flowing water.


BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22200476

17 billion Earth sized planets

Summary: Kepler scientists have announced 461 new planet candidates, bringing the satellites' total haul to 2,740. Based on this updated data, astronomers estimate that for every six stars that astronomers find, at least one will have a earth-sized planet in a close orbit. This brings the potential for earth-sized planets up to about 17 billion in our galaxy.


BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20942440

New Planets

Summary: Kepler has recently discovered an Earth-size planet and two smaller planets that may be the charred remains of planets.

BBC News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16268950
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16279016

Nature:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vnfv/ncurrent/full/nature10780.html