New Star-Wars-like planet discovered

15 มิถุนายน 2559

Astronomers have discovered the largest planet outside our solar system which, like Tatooine in Star Wars, orbits two stars and is at a distance that would make life potentially possible for people, scientists announced Monday.

Astronomers have discovered the largest planet outside our solar system which, like Tatooine in Star Wars, orbits two stars and is at a distance that would make life potentially possible for people, scientists announced Monday.

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Note: There are many different pronunciations for the fictional planet Tatooine and I have used one of the most common.

Many people both here and abroad are fascinated by the idea that aliens, visitors from other worlds, have visited or could visit our planet. The problem is that those other worlds capable of supporting life – probably some type of planet – are hard to find and the few that have been discovered are so far away that it would take millions or even billions of years for their inhabitants to reach Earth. Read the story and find out if this discovery changes anything.

Scientists discover giant new planet orbiting two suns

Washington, AFP – Astronomers have discovered the largest planet outside our solar system orbiting two stars, at a distance that would make it potentially habitable for people, scientists announced Monday.

A team of NASA astronomers that made the discovery using the Kepler space telescope revealed the findings at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego, California.

The gaseous planet – dubbed Kepler-1647 b – is the size of Jupiter and has a wide orbit, revolving around its two stars in 1,107 days, or around three years.

The discovery is the eleventh of its kind since 2005.

Planets that orbit two stars – known as circumbinary planets – are sometimes called "Tatooines," after the similar fictional planet in the movie Star Wars where Luke Skywalker was raised.

Kepler-1647 b is further from its two stars than any other known circumbinary planet, placing it in an orbit that "puts the planet within the so-called habitable zone," a statement from San Diego State University (SDSU) said.

In theory, that would make the planet neither too hot nor too cold for human habitation, and water could exist in liquid form.

However, Kepler-1647 b is gaseous like Jupiter, making the possibility life could exist there unlikely.

Still, any large moons orbiting the planet could possibly host life.

At 4.4 billion years old, Kepler-1647 b is roughly the same age as the Earth. Its stars are also similar to the Sun, one slightly larger and the other slightly smaller, according to a research paper set to appear in The Astrophysical Journal.

Located near the Cygnus constellation, the planet lies some 3,700 light-years away from the Earth (a light-year is the equivalent of around 5.9 billion miles, or 9.5 billion kilometers).

Researchers are able to detect planets outside the solar system – called exoplanets – when they pass in front of their stars, causing "slight dips in brightness," the researchers said.

Scientists required several years to collect and analyse additional data before they could confirm the planet's discovery.