http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/2010/01/11/kepler-space-telescope-finds-five-planets/ extra dimensions of particle physics Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:22:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/2010/01/11/kepler-space-telescope-finds-five-planets/comment-page-1/#comment-39737 Jim Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:51:42 +0000 http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/?p=6303#comment-39737 I think that when you say, "mission failed to find a habitable exoplanet," it should be noted that there was no possibility to find these planets in the first set of data. Since the first data set was somewhere in the area of 50 days worth and 3 transits are required for a confirmed find, no planet with an orbital period of more than 17 days could have possibly been found this early. An earth like planet would have an orbital period close to one year plus or minus factors proportional to the thermal output from the star and the width of the habitable zone. This means that we’ll be waiting a long time for them. Over a hundred additional possible finds are left to be confirmed in the initial data. This is in no way a failure, these early results are excellent and the project is proceeding perfectly. I think that when you say, “mission failed to find a habitable exoplanet,” it should be noted that there was no possibility to find these planets in the first set of data. Since the first data set was somewhere in the area of 50 days worth and 3 transits are required for a confirmed find, no planet with an orbital period of more than 17 days could have possibly been found this early. An earth like planet would have an orbital period close to one year plus or minus factors proportional to the thermal output from the star and the width of the habitable zone. This means that we’ll be waiting a long time for them. Over a hundred additional possible finds are left to be confirmed in the initial data. This is in no way a failure, these early results are excellent and the project is proceeding perfectly.

]]>