CANADA: One of NASA’s greatest achievements in its mission to find other planets similar to Earth, astronomers at NASA have confirmed the existence of a planet outside our solar system that has several similarities with our planet.
Using the Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA astronomers found a planet much larger than the Earth, but it has several similarities with our planet that it could be considered as a potential new home for humans.
The “SuperEarth” is called HD 219134b for now and it is located about 21 light years away from our Earth. It is still very far from us, and the planet circles around its star a little too close for comfort that it would make it virtually impossible for it to sustain life, therefore making it impossible for humans to live there.
The upside to this is that the planet’s contents might give the scientists at NASA the information they need to learn more about other planets where humans can reside.
Michael Werner, project scientist of the Spitzer mission, said that “Transiting exoplanets are worth their weight in gold because they can be extensively characterized.”
Werner spoke with reporters at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory about their findings, and although the Super Earth they discovered is not capable of housing humans, it is still of good use to the scientists at NASA for studying. He said, “This exoplanet will be one of the most studied for decades to come.”
Ati Motalebi, a scientist from the University of Geneva, said, “The idea was to check for a potential transit of the planet in front of the star.” He said that they were looking for a “mini-eclipse” that would help them measure the size of the planet more efficiently.
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