Small, rocky extrasolar planet discovered

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SUMMARY

Kepler has confirmed the discovery of the first small, rocky extrasolar planet, which is approximately 1.5 times the size of Earth and has a mass of about 4.5 Earth masses. This planet exhibits a high density of around 8.8 grams per cubic centimeter, comparable to solid nickel, and experiences extreme temperatures of roughly 2500 degrees Fahrenheit at noon. Its close orbit, at 1/20 the distance of Mercury from the Sun, contributes to these conditions. This discovery underscores Kepler's capability to identify Earth-like planets, highlighting the importance of advanced telescopes in the search for new celestial bodies.

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  • Understanding of extrasolar planet classification
  • Familiarity with Kepler space telescope operations
  • Knowledge of planetary density and composition
  • Basic concepts of stellar distances and orbits
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Chronos
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Kepler recently found the first confirmed small, rocky planet:
http://www.universetoday.com/82362/kepler-discovers-it’s-smallest-and-first-rocky-planet/
The arxiv preprint was released a few days ago:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1102.0605
The planet is remarkably small - only about 1.5x the size of Earth and about 4.5 Earth masses. It is also veryg dense - around 8.8 gm/cc, or about the equivalent of solid nickel. It is also quite toasty - roughly 2500 degrees at noon. This is not surprising given it orbits a sunlike star at 1/20 the distance of mercury from our sun. The exciting thing is it shows Kepler can potentially detect earth-like planets.
 
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that is why a telescope is so important finding new planets how many more are out there
 

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