NASA discovers tiniest planet
22 Feb 2013 5:36 AM IST
NASA has discovered the smallest known planet outside our solar system which is slightly larger than the Moon and orbits its Sun like host star every 13 days.
NASA’s Kepler space telescope detected the smallest planet yet found around a star similar to the Sun in a new planetary system. The planets are located in a system called Kepler-37, about 210 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra.
The smallest planet, Kepler-37b, is slightly larger than our Moon, measuring about one-third the size of Earth. It is smaller than Mercury, which made its detection a challenge.
The Moon-size planet and its two companion planets were found by scientists with NASA’s Kepler mission to find Earth-sized planets in or near the ‘habitable zone’, the region in a planetary system where liquid water might exist on the surface of an orbiting planet. However, while the star in Kepler-37 may be similar to our Sun, the system appears quite unlike our solar system. Astronomers think Kepler-37b does not have an atmosphere and cannot support life as we know it.
NASA’s Kepler space telescope detected the smallest planet yet found around a star similar to the Sun in a new planetary system. The planets are located in a system called Kepler-37, about 210 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra.
The smallest planet, Kepler-37b, is slightly larger than our Moon, measuring about one-third the size of Earth. It is smaller than Mercury, which made its detection a challenge.
The Moon-size planet and its two companion planets were found by scientists with NASA’s Kepler mission to find Earth-sized planets in or near the ‘habitable zone’, the region in a planetary system where liquid water might exist on the surface of an orbiting planet. However, while the star in Kepler-37 may be similar to our Sun, the system appears quite unlike our solar system. Astronomers think Kepler-37b does not have an atmosphere and cannot support life as we know it.
Next Story
