Mass Transits: Kepler Mission Releases Data on Hundreds of Possible Exoplanets

NASA's planet hunter has identified more than 700 candidate extrasolar worlds that have yet to be confirmed, including some that may be Earth-size.

Full story; http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=kepler-planets-700

NASA Kepler story; http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/main/index.html

Kepler: Home Page; http://kepler.nasa.gov/

John.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11070991
Rich exoplanet system discovered

Astronomers have discovered a planetary system containing at least five planets that orbit a star called HD 10180, which is much like our own Sun.

If true, then we are making progress in answering the big question of Earth-like and habitable planets.

I think that even the 3-body problem is solved only with great difficulty and by using approximations of lengthy series involving numerical integration.. Therefore, statements that they are 99% certain that there are 9 planets I receive with a bit of skepticism.

Anyhow, all we need is one planet in the system that is earth-like and meets a long list of conditions for habitability and evolution to intelligent life. Soon we may make more progress in being able to make these determinations even at 127 lightyears.

... I think that even the 3-body problem is solved only with great difficulty and by using approximations of lengthy series involving numerical integration.. Therefore, statements that they are 99% certain that there are 9 planets I receive with a bit of skepticism. ...

FFT of the measured radial velocity of the star?...

The rest is simply down to Kepler for the first quick-look guess.

Keep searchin',
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

[Edit]


Just a heads up for all you all you Kepler spacecraft fans - like me :-)

NASA will hold a media teleconference
to discuss the Kepler spacecraft's latest discovery about
an intriguing planetary system
- today - Thursday, Aug. 26, at 1 p.m. EDT
I think that would be: 17:00:00 UTC ? not sure ?


Press Conference for LATEST FINDINGS by Kepler

MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-120 WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a media teleconference - Thursday, Aug. 26, at 1 p.m. EDT
to discuss the Kepler spacecraft's latest discovery about an intriguing planetary system. ...In June, mission scientists a announced the mission has identified more than 700 planet candidates, including five candidate systems that appear to have more than one transiting planet.

To participate in the teleconference, reporters [ONLY] should e-mail J.D. Harrington at by 11 a.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 26.
See http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/aug/HQ_M10-120_Kepler_Telecon.html

[For General Public:] Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

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NASA Science News for August 26, 2010

NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered two Saturn-sized planets transiting a single sun-like star. The same system might contain a third world--a hot "super-Earth" one and a half times the size of Earth. Researchers announced the results today at a NASA press conference.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/26aug_kepler/

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... I think that even the 3-body problem is solved only with great difficulty and by using approximations of lengthy series involving numerical integration.. Therefore, statements that they are 99% certain that there are 9 planets I receive with a bit of skepticism. ...

Well, looks like the details for the published star system are extreme enough that they can directly see the effects of an n-body system!

Kepler Discovers Multiple Planets Transiting a Single Star

"This discovery is the first clear detection of significant changes in the intervals from one planetary transit to the next, what we call transit timing variations," said Matthew Holman, a Kepler mission scientist from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "This is evidence of the gravitational interaction between the two planets as seen by the Kepler spacecraft."


Interesting stuff.

Keep searchin',
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)