• Facebook
  • Google Plus
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Advertise
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
Header image

Times of San DiegoLogo

Local News and Opinion for San Diego

Menu

Skip to content
  • All
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Education
  • Arts
  • Military
  • Tech
  • Life
  • Opinion
Search Thousands of San Diego Jobs
  • Rep. Rashida Tlaib Talk at Westview High School 'Bumped' by Poway Schools
  • San Diego Adds High-Tech S-70i Firehawk Helicopter to Firefighting Fleet
  • 'Suspicious Person' Report Prompts Standoff at Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station
  • San Diego Foundation Announces $2.7 Million in College Scholarships Available
  • Authorities ID Passenger Killed in Corvette Crash in Escondido

Home » Tech » This Article

NASA Telescope Discovers Planet Dubbed Earth’s ‘Cousin’

Posted by Jacob Gardenswartz on July 23, 2015 in Tech | 87 Views
| Comments | Leave a Comment
Share This Article:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail
An artist's rendering of what Kepler-452b might look like. Photo courtesy of NASA.
An artist’s rendering of what Kepler-452b might look like. Photo courtesy of NASA.

NASA’s Kepler orbiting telescope confirmed the existence of an “older, bigger cousin to Earth” 1,400 light years away — the first planet known to be in a habitable zone around a sun-like star, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena announced Thursday.

Support Times of San Diego's growth
with a small monthly contribution

Become a supporter

Kepler-452b is larger than Earth and takes 385 days to orbit its parent star, according to NASA. Its orbit is distant enough from the star for liquid water to pool on its surface, and not so far away that the water would be in a frozen state year-round.

“We can think of Kepler-452b as an older, bigger cousin to Earth, providing an opportunity to understand and reflect upon Earth’s evolving environment,” said Jon Jenkins with NASA’s Ames Research Center, who led the team that discovered the planet.

“It’s awe-inspiring to consider that this planet has spent 6 billion years in the habitable zone of its star, longer than Earth,” Jenkins continued. “That’s substantial opportunity for life to arise, should all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet.”

Scientists believe Kepler-452b is a rocky planet but the “ingredients and conditions” there are unknown.

The star — Kepler-452 — is 1.5 billion years older than the sun, is 20 percent brighter but has the same temperature, according to NASA. It is in the constellation Cygnus.

Since its launch in 2009, the Kepler spacecraft has spotted 4,696 exoplanet candidates, 1030 of which subsequently were confirmed to be planets, according to NASA.

JPL managed Kepler mission development, and the Ames Research Center in Moffett, California, manages the Kepler mission and its subsequent mission — dubbed K2.

— City News Service

NASA Telescope Discovers Planet Dubbed Earth’s ‘Cousin’ was last modified: July 23rd, 2015 by Jacob Gardenswartz

>> Subscribe to Times of San Diego’s free daily email newsletter! Click here

Follow Us:
Facebooktwitterrss
Posted in Tech | Tagged cousin, Earth, Kepler, Kepler-452b, NASA, new planet, Pasadena, planet
Search Thousands of San Diego Jobs

Get Times of San Diego by Email

Our free newsletter is delivered at 8 a.m. daily.


Most Popular Today

  • Chris Matthews Flub Cited in San Diegan's Suit vs. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Chris Matthews Flub Cited in San Diegan’s Suit vs. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow 1,460 views
  • Poway Schools Urged to Cancel Talk by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Critic of Israel Poway Schools Urged to Cancel Talk by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Critic of Israel 760 views
  • 57-Year-Old Driver Not Wearing a Seat Belt Killed in Clairemont Collision 57-Year-Old Driver Not Wearing a Seat Belt Killed in Clairemont Collision 550 views
  • New USMCA Trade Deal Includes $300 Million to Stop Tijuana River Pollution New USMCA Trade Deal Includes $300 Million to Stop Tijuana River Pollution 260 views
  • County Can't Change Controversial Ballot Measure Limiting Housing Development County Can’t Change Controversial Ballot Measure Limiting Housing Development 220 views

©®2019 Times of San Diego LLC

Menu

  • About
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Advertise
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service