How close is close? Are we really alone out there?
Astronomers have found a new planet, the closest outside of our solar system (known as exoplanets) - a mere four light years away or 25 trillion miles away!
Since the discovery of the first exoplanet in the early 1990's more than 800 have been discovered but this is the closet to Earth. This is a relatively new aspect of science/astronomy since it has only been studied for approx. 22 years and the fact that more than 800 exoplanets have been discovered or approx. 36 exoplanet discovery's per year. This demonstrates that exoplanets is an area that is being researched by a wide variety of scientists throughout the world.
Scientists have determined that it is too close to the sun to support life since the surface temperature is estimated at 1,200 degrees Celsius. This planet is roughly the same size of Earth and orbits one of the suns in Alpa Centauri.
It is a landmark discovery because the planet is of a relatively low mass and our closest neighbour.
However, previous studies have shown that if there is one planet orbiting a sun there is normally others within the same system.
This leads astronomers to further research moving forward.
One discovery can lead to many other research opportunities in the future.
Yet again, man is looking out beyond Earth to see what else is out there. Space exploration is continuing and a growing field.
So let's all keep looking and reaching for the stars- anything is possible.
Source:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2012/10/17/20288431.html
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