Okay yeah they're still really far away but still cool.

Scientists have found two planets that are more like Earth in size and temperature than anything that’s ever been seen, a discovery made with help from astronomers at San Diego State University.

The Kepler Telescope spotted the planets circling a star in constellation Lyra, in the so-called “habitable zone,” a region where it is possible for water to exist on the surface if a planet has enough atmospheric pressure. Some scientists call these “Goldilocks” planets because they aren’t too close or too far from their sun to rule out the presence of water.

The two planets were found with three others that are located outside the habitable zone, a collection of five worlds that are about 1,200 light years from Earth.

NASA will announce in a news conference on Thursday that the two Earth-like planets, known as 62-e and 62-f, could have rocky compositions, which would further make them like Earth.

Scientists have discovered more than 860 planets beyond our solar system, including dozens in habitable zones. But SDSU astronomer Jerome Orosz says, “These two planets are very close to Earth in size and expected temperature. There’s a possibility that there’s liquid water on their surfaces. And that means there’s a possibility of life.”

The Kepler Telescope was specifically designed to search for planets like Earth. The instrument was launched in 2009 and spends its days orbiting the sun, peering out at the Milky Way. Kepler surveys more then 170,000 stars, using the transit method to find planets.

Relative sizes of Kepler habitable zone planets discovered as of April 18, 2013. Left to right: Kepler-22b, Kepler-69c, Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f, and Earth (except for Earth, these are artists' renditions). Image credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech.

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's Kepler mission has discovered two new planetary systems that include three super-Earth-size planets in the "habitable zone," the range of distance from a star where the surface temperature of an orbiting planet might be suitable for liquid water.

The Kepler-62 system has five planets; 62b, 62c, 62d, 62e and 62f. The Kepler-69 system has two planets; 69b and 69c. Kepler-62e, 62f and 69c are the super-Earth-sized planets.

Two of the newly discovered planets orbit a star smaller and cooler than the sun. Kepler-62f is only 40 percent larger than Earth, making it the exoplanet closest to the size of our planet known in the habitable zone of another star. Kepler-62f is likely to have a rocky composition. Kepler-62e, orbits on the inner edge of the habitable zone and is roughly 60 percent larger than Earth.

The third planet, Kepler-69c, is 70 percent larger than the size of Earth, and orbits in the habitable zone of a star similar to our sun. Astronomers are uncertain about the composition of Kepler-69c, but its orbit of 242 days around a sun-like star resembles that of our neighboring planet Venus.

Scientists do not know whether life could exist on the newfound planets, but their discovery signals we are another step closer to finding a world similar to Earth around a star like our sun.

"The Kepler spacecraft has certainly turned out to be a rock star of science," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The discovery of these rocky planets in the habitable zone brings us a bit closer to finding a place like home. It is only a matter of time before we know if the galaxy is home to a multitude of planets like Earth, or if we are a rarity."

The Kepler space telescope, which simultaneously and continuously measures the brightness of more than 150,000 stars, is NASA's first mission capable of detecting Earth-size planets around stars like our sun. Orbiting its star every 122 days, Kepler-62e was the first of these habitable zone planets identified. Kepler-62f, with an orbital period of 267 days, was later found by Eric Agol, associate professor of astronomy at the University of Washington and co-author of a paper on the discoveries published in the journal Science.

The size of Kepler-62f is now measured, but its mass and composition are not. However, based on previous studies of rocky exoplanets similar in size, scientists are able to estimate its mass by association.

"The detection and confirmation of planets is an enormously collaborative effort of talent and resources, and requires expertise from across the scientific community to produce these tremendous results," said William Borucki, Kepler science principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., and lead author of the Kepler-62 system paper in Science. "Kepler has brought a resurgence of astronomical discoveries and we are making excellent progress toward determining if planets like ours are the exception or the rule."

The two habitable zone worlds orbiting Kepler-62 have three companions in orbits closer to their star, two larger than the size of Earth and one about the size of Mars. Kepler-62b, Kepler-62c and Kepler-62d, orbit every five, 12, and 18 days, respectively, making them very hot and inhospitable for life as we know it.

The five planets of the Kepler-62 system orbit a star classified as a K2 dwarf, measuring just two-thirds the size of the sun and only one-fifth as bright. At seven billion years old, the star is somewhat older than the sun. It is about 1,200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra.

A companion to Kepler-69c, known as Kepler-69b, is more than twice the size of Earth and whizzes around its star every 13 days. The Kepler-69 planets' host star belongs to the same class as our sun, called G-type. It is 93 percent the size of the sun and 80 percent as luminous and is located approximately 2,700 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus.

"We only know of one star that hosts a planet with life, the sun. Finding a planet in the habitable zone around a star like our sun is a significant milestone toward finding truly Earth-like planets," said Thomas Barclay, Kepler scientist at the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute in Sonoma, Calif., and lead author of the Kepler-69 system discovery published in the Astrophysical Journal.

When a planet candidate transits, or passes in front of the star from the spacecraft's vantage point, a percentage of light from the star is blocked. The resulting dip in the brightness of the starlight reveals the transiting planet's size relative to its star. Using the transit method, Kepler has detected 2,740 candidates. Using various analysis techniques, ground telescopes and other space assets, 122 planets have been confirmed.

five bucks on kepler 69c

I'm always perplexed why some folks think a "super Earth' is abad news, and

that it should be an earth-sized planet instead.

I think a Super-Earth, between 1.1 and 1.5 times the diameter of earth,

and between 1.5 and 5 times the mass is ideal. Anything larger, and I

would imagine it is bordering on gas-giant status (Neptune is 4 times

the diameter of Earth).

Anyways, the reason why Super-Earths are ideal is that we

now believe you need plate-tectonics for life to be likely,

and you definately want a magnetic field--it's the lack of a magnetic

field that is why Mars's earth-like past no longer exists--it's atmosphere

and potential for life bombarded by radiation from space.

Anyways, to accomplish this, Earth is at the very bare minimum in size

to have a magnetific field (a substantial one at least). You need enough

heat and pressure at a planet's interior for a liquid core that spins--this

creates a magnetic field. (gas giants achieve this with gasses, but the

pressures are far greater).

A planet Earth's size may or may not have a magnetific field, but

a Super-Earth certainly would. ( a terrestrial Super-Earth)

[Edited 4/19/13 2:00am]

imago said:

^ yup i want an exoplanet where i can leap tall buildings in a single bound.

XxAxX said:

NDRU said:

XxAxX said:

^ yup i want an exoplanet where i can leap tall buildings in a single bound.

I want a world where I am less jowly

^ i want a world where jowls are regarded as groovy

this thread has become quite stupid.

imago said:

this thread has become quite stupid.

yes...become...