NASA announced Monday the discovery of Kepler-22b, the first planet the Kepler spacecraft has discovered in the habitable zone, an area with a distance from a star where temperatures will permit the existence of liquid water.
The discovery of Kepler-22b, which is 600 light-years away from Earth, brings scientists one step closer to finding a planet that could possibly harbor life.
"This is a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin," Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist said in a statement. "Kepler's results continue to demonstrate the importance of NASA's science missions, which aim to answer some of the biggest questions about our place in the universe.It's Monday, which means GeekBytes is back for the new week. In today's wrap-up, we take a look at very pretty moving light show, an interesting coffee maker project and NASA's fascinating planet discovery.
NASA Discovers Habitable Planet, Similar to Earth
NASA's Kepler telescope has discovered a planet within a "habitable zone"--the first discovery of its kind of the Kepler mission. The planet, currently called
Kepler-22b, is the first confirmed planet that has the right surface temperature to have liquid water and possibly harbor life. At present, it's not known if the planet is rocky, gaseous, or liquid in composition, but further study will tell us more about "Earth's twin". But don't start packing your bags just yet: 22b is 600 light-years away!
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