Astronomers yesterday added 219 candidates to a growing list of planets outside the solar system, 10 of which could be almost identical to Earth's size and temperature, boosting the chances of life.
Scientists have found the candidate planets in a final batch of observations by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope for 200,000 star samples in the Starfish group. The candidate planets include 10 newly discovered rocky worlds located at an appropriate distance from their main stars so that water, if any, is collected on its surface.
"There is an important question for us: are we alone? Kepler may tell us today indirectly that we are not alone. "
NASA launched the Kepler telescope in 2009 to see whether Earth-like planets are common or rare. After the final analysis of Kepler's data is available, they will answer that question, a key step in evaluating the chances of extraterrestrial life, scientists said. During a four-year mission, the telescope detected 2,335 constellations and 1699 other candidate planets, bringing the number to 4034. It includes 50 other scientists likely to be the size and temperature of the earth.
With the inclusion of other telescopic surveys, scientists have confirmed the existence of 3,500 planets outside the solar system. Kepler's data also provided a new way to determine whether a planet had a solid surface such as Earth or most of it was composed of gases such as Neptune. The distinction will help scientists identify Earth-like planets and the best possibilities for finding a life. The Kepler team found that planets that are 1.75 times the size of the Earth or smaller tend to be rocky while those that are about two or three times the size of Earth are surrounded by planets surrounded by gases such as Neptune.
The so-called "Big Earth" and "Little Neptune" planets have not yet been found in the planet's solar system, although they are looking for a possible ninth planet far from Pluto.