The Discovery of New Planets Essay

Submitted By beautyiseternal1
Words: 861
Pages: 4
Open Document
New Planet
Jane Doe
Some University

New Planet Coming into this technologically and scientifically-advanced time has gradually become a constructive and exciting time for scientists and the rest of humankind. In addition to the new technology that has come about, over time there’s no denying that we have uncovered an increasing number of planetary bodies; be it stars and or planets that could possibly sustain life or not at all. Since 2005, scientists have found a vast amount of “super-Earths” which is defined as “…a planet with a mass between 1 and 10 times that of Earth, but less than the mass of the solar systems giant gas planets such as Saturn, Neptune and Jupiter (Live Science, 2011). In some cases the super-Earths are surrounded by water which could verify the likelihood of life forms inhabiting these areas, this information excites astronomers due to the chance that the super-Earths could be fit for the habitation of life in contrast to the gas giants. The search for these Earth-like planets continues to be one of the most sought after missions in the world with new findings every-day in the making, as stated by Keck Observatory, scientists from the Universities of California, Berkeley and Hawaii have come together and mathematically came to the conclusion that 20% of the Sun-like stars in our galaxy have Earth-sized planets that could in fact contain life (Keck Observatory, 2013). The article goes on to state that upon coming to this assumption from the studies done from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft mission that discovered the first exoplanet (Kepler-22) along with the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is the largest optical and infrared telescopes in the world, scientists are able to get that much closer to learning even more about these Sun-like stars (Keck Observatory, 2013). Upon learning about this pertinent information this reveals that every-fifth star has a planet somewhat like Earth, Mr. Howard who is an astronomer at the University of Hawaii states that they now have to build equipment i.e. space crafts, telescopes etc. that are governed by how close the nearest Earth-sized planets are in order to take a picture of the planet itself (Keck Observatory, 2013). If I were a scientist or astronomer and I had the pleasure of discovering a new planet that resembled Earth, the first factor I would observe is the temperature of the planet, the temperature depends solely on the planet’s ability to heat the oceans at the right temperature, the atmosphere and the land in order to balance out the environment as well as sustain life forms. The second feature I would study would be the surface of the planet to see whether the surface is primarily an aquatic zone or an area where the surface is primarily land, as this tells what species lives on the planet and also makes for an easier exploration of the planet by space probe and or actual landing on the planet by astronaut. Whether it’s Venus’s thick clouds that block the surface from sight, icy planets like Uranus and Neptune or the rocky surface of Kepler-22, which is the latest discovered planet; the surface of a planet is a highly important feature when comparing an Earth like planet to that of Earth itself.
According to an article put forth by Harvard University, plate tectonics are “the forces that move continents and build mountains” without them the world wouldn’t be as unique as it is with its hill topped plains and
Show More

Related Documents: The Discovery of New Planets Essay

Journalism: Global Warming and Journalism News Article Essay

Journalism News Article The discovery of a new super-earth planet by an international team of astronomers led by Mikko Tuomi, University of Hertfordshire, and Guillem Anglada-Escude, University of Goettingen has sparked a debate between Hertfordshire students on how relevant it is to them as individuals. Various reasons were put for and against the relevance of this planet to the everyday student, with those arguing for, stating that this discovery firstly gives more of an insight into where we…

Words 307 - Pages 2

Water On Mars Research Paper

The discovery that life exists on other worlds would not be the most significant find because the recent discovery of the existence of liquid water on Mars was more important. A simple discovery of life existence is not substantial enough because nothing would really be concluded from it without further research and past knowledge. In the Mars case, it has already been established that Mars was once like Earth before it froze up and became a cold, and perhaps lifeless, planet. We were only able…

Words 547 - Pages 3

10th Planet Essay

Add a tenth planet to the solar system -- or possibly subtract one. Astronomers announced yesterday that they had found a lump of rock and ice that was larger than Pluto and the farthest known object in the solar system. The discovery will probably rekindle debate over the definition of ''planet'' and whether Pluto still merits the designation. The new object -- as yet unnamed, but temporarily known as 2003 UB313 -- is now 9 billion miles away from the Sun, or 97 times as far away as Earth…

Words 486 - Pages 2

Extra Solar Planets Essay

Humankind’s Discovery of Extra-Solar Planets and its Effects on Religion Scott R. Pelow ITT Technical College S. Slovik EN-1320: Composition one Throughout the history humankind has looked to the stars and wondered if they are alone in the universe. Only in the past few hundred years have humans had the means to start answering this timeless and most important of questions and now that humans have begun to discover extra-solar planets in their galactic neighborhood they may soon find out.…

Words 1336 - Pages 6

Space Race Research Paper

Why We Should Move to Mars Earth is amazing. It is, by nature, the ideal planet for humans to live on. But have you ever dreamed of life on Mars? Have you ever wanted to jump on the Moon? Just because Earth is the best planet for us to live on doesn’t mean that it has to be the only option. Humans should colonize space because it is the next frontier in human exploration, it has the potential for rapid scientific discovery, and it is the best way to protect the human species from extinction. One…

Words 657 - Pages 3

Neil Degrasse Tyson Pluto Analysis

Disney’s great nephew. “Walt was fascinated by space, space discoveries, it wasn’t an accident he named a character Pluto, it was fate.” (Nova) Then, he visited the Tombaugh family. In 1894, astronomer, Persible Lowell stumbled across a “planet x”, while trying to discover life on Mars. Completing Lowell’s quest, Clyde Tombaugh was a farmer who discovered Pluto without having attending college. In 2006, the IAU conference decided, “ planets must clear the neighborhood around…

Words 249 - Pages 1

Early Space Exploration Research Paper

come to be, and how can this information be used to enable humans to become more advanced? Every discovery man has ever made has come from within this solar system. If humans were to travel beyond this solar system, the amount of discoveries made would skyrocket. Some examples of discoveries found in this solar system…

Words 1988 - Pages 8

Scientific Revolution and discoveries Essay

Scientific Revolution's Discoveries Hilda Gleason Azusa Pacific Online University August 22nd, 2014 The scientific revolution began in Europe towards the end of the Renaissance era and continued through the late eighteenth century. It was the rise of modern science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology and chemistry altered views of society and nature. It influenced the intellectual and social movement known as the Enlightenment…

Words 929 - Pages 4

Astronomy and Telescope Essay

Tremane Pullins Astronomy 1403-1 Professor Mills 9/20/14 Hunting the Edge of Space The new age of space exploration begins with the invention of the telescope. It’s the year 1990 and NASA launches the Hubble Space Telescope. What makes this special is that only I it the first of a new telescope technology, but NASA is certain it will unlock the secrets of the cosmos. Over the course of the video it covers three subjects: What matter our universe is composed of, how it came to be, and whether or…

Words 1223 - Pages 5

Ceres Research Paper

As many of us know, NASA is consistently making new discoveries. The newest of discovery has me quite intrigued. The findings that implies that the planet, Ceres, has a weak interior. This is evaluated by monitoring the variations in Ceres’ gravity fluctuations, even though they are subtle it is enough of a clue to determine the internal structure. This new data propose that Ceres has a weak interior, and water and light particles of unknown material separated from rock in the early years during…

Words 582 - Pages 3