NASA’s Kepler satellite has found three new planets which could possibly host life. The only problem is that they are between 1,000 and 3,000 light-years away. Even though there is no hope for humans to move there any time soon, Sara Seager, a professor of planetary science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has classified the discovery as a “huge milestone”.
The discovery was announced on April 18, 2013 in a study in the journal Science. The planets, named Kepler 62e, 62f and 62c, are part of a system made up of five planets and one host star which acts as the equivalent of the Earth’s Sun. Out of the five plants, these three have been regarded as possibly allowing life because they are found in the “habitable zone”, which means near enough from the host star to allow for the existence of liquid water.
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Out of the three, the smallest one is more likely to be made out of rock instead of gas. It is thought that Kepler 62f is only 40% larger than the Earth and orbits the host star in 267.3 days. The star’s illumination level is also similar to the one we get from our Sun.
Any of the three planets, though, are considered more likely to host life than the other options within our own solar system. The theories will remain so until the atmosphere of each planet can be tested, which would take an entirely different mission. NASA has stated it will focus on closer stars in the future so that scientists can investigate planets in more detail.
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