As reported here in Mystical Musings the other day, NASA said there would be an announcement regarding the Kepler space observatory launched last March to search for terrestrial-type planets. Today, they announced that the mission is already a success and five new exoplanets can be added to our catalogue.
Named Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b and 8b, the planets are all of high mass and extreme temperature and range in size from similar to Neptune to Jupiter and temperatures from 2,200 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. That's a heck of a lot hotter than the temperature required to burn a book.
Kepler is expected to keep looking for planets until November 2012 and as the mission's head stated in the news briefing today, "The Kepler observations will tell us whether there are many stars with planets that could harbor life, or whether we might be alone in our galaxy."
Click here for more info on Kepler and its mission. The mission is named after German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Johannes Kepler best known for his laws of planetary motion which led the way for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation. Kepler proved that planets moved around the sun in elliptical orbits and not the circular orbits proposed by Copernicus. Along with Newton, Kepler gave rise to modern astronomy and physics.
Enjoy!
--->Susan
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