Author Topic: Very earthlike planet found by NASA  (Read 13603 times)

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Offline Svata

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Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« on: July 23, 2015, 06:31:51 pm »
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/23/us/feat-nasa-kepler-planet-discovery/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/072315-kepler-exoplanet-earth-452b-space-science/


So apparently Kepler 452-b is fairly earthlike. 60% larger, 50% older, and 500% 400% more massive, but in its star's habitable zone, and with a 50/50 shot of having a rocky surface. Its atmosphere would be thicker than Earth's, and we have no idea what its made of, but this is the most earthlike planet we've yet found.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2015, 07:27:05 pm by Svata »
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Art Vandelay

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2015, 07:16:17 pm »
60% larger... and 500% more massive

...Huh?

Offline Svata

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2015, 07:25:11 pm »
Straight from the NatGeo article


Quote
Kepler 452b is about 60 percent larger than Earth, and perhaps five times as massive.


Then again, I suppose that would only be 400% more massive, wouldn't it.
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Art Vandelay

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2015, 07:36:46 pm »
Now I'm not sure if that's actually an error, or "larger" and "more massive" really do mean different things in astronomy.

Offline Ironchew

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2015, 07:36:56 pm »
60% larger... and 500% more massive

...Huh?

1.6 times Earth's radius. Volume and mass are proportional to the cube of the radius.

We don't know the mass, though, so we don't know the density of Kepler 452b and we can only speculate whether it's terrestrial (Earth or Venus-like) or a smallish gas giant. It's technically a super-Earth and it's in a habitable orbit, but I'd hold off on calling it Earthlike without more information.
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Offline Eiki-mun

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2015, 09:25:32 pm »
60% larger... and 500% more massive

...Huh?

1.6 times Earth's radius. Volume and mass are proportional to the cube of the radius.

We don't know the mass, though, so we don't know the density of Kepler 452b and we can only speculate whether it's terrestrial (Earth or Venus-like) or a smallish gas giant. It's technically a super-Earth and it's in a habitable orbit, but I'd hold off on calling it Earthlike without more information.

Or it could be 1.6 times Earth's volume, and 5 times Earth's mass. It's very possible if the planet is a lot denser.
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Offline Sigmaleph

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2015, 09:26:05 pm »
60% larger... and 500% more massive

...Huh?

1.6 times Earth's radius. Volume and mass are proportional to the cube of the radius.

Sort of, but not quite. Indeed in this case "60% larger" is talking about its radius (which is a weird way of putting it) but assuming a straightforward mass ∝ radius^3 relationship would imply the planet is 4.3 times* more massive, not five times. This is because planets of different sizes are also likely to have different densities, so while volume is proportional to radius cubed, mass is not exactly proportional to volume.

The "5 times more massive" thing actually has fairly big error bars, but it's the best estimate they have based on probable composition.

*(1.63^3, 1.63 being the best number I could find for the radius relative to Earth's)
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Offline Ultimate Paragon

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2015, 09:11:53 pm »
I wonder if it has life.

Offline niam2023

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2015, 03:34:39 am »
I hope they're not having an election...
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Offline TheContrarian

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2015, 11:44:47 am »
Sounds good.  We should send all the feminists and SJWs there.

They have 1.6 times the radius and about 5 times the mass of a normal human so it should suit them perfectly.


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Offline Ultimate Paragon

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2015, 11:52:41 am »
Sounds good.  We should send all the feminists and SJWs there.

They have 1.6 times the radius and about 5 times the mass of a normal human so it should suit them perfectly.

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Offline Svata

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #11 on: July 30, 2015, 11:58:54 am »
Sounds good.  We should send all the feminists and SJWs there.

They have 1.6 times the radius and about 5 times the mass of a normal human so it should suit them perfectly.

Is a (male) feminist. Weighs 120 lbs. Waist is 29 inches. You were saying?
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Offline TheContrarian

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #12 on: July 30, 2015, 01:09:59 pm »
Sounds good.  We should send all the feminists and SJWs there.

They have 1.6 times the radius and about 5 times the mass of a normal human so it should suit them perfectly.

Is a (male) feminist. Weighs 120 lbs. Waist is 29 inches. You were saying?

The correct term is "satellite".

You'll never accrete enough mass to be a TRUE feminist.


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Offline Ironchew

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2015, 01:31:13 pm »
Sounds good.  We should send all the feminists and SJWs there.

They have 1.6 times the radius and about 5 times the mass of a normal human so it should suit them perfectly.

Is a (male) feminist. Weighs 350 lbs. Waist is...dammit, Contrarian, well played. Well played.
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Offline Svata

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Re: Very earthlike planet found by NASA
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2015, 01:33:10 pm »
Ah, self depreciation.  The best kind of humor!
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