Wednesday, June 4, 2014

KEPLER 10-C

Kepler-10C is an enormous and dense rocky planet. It inhabits the constellation Draco (560 light-years away). The most intriguing aspect of this planet is its weight which is 17 times greater than that of the earth, but is is also 2.3 times larger than the earth. The planet is mainly composed of heavy solids, which is quite perplexing considering its size. Kepler-10C's solar system is estimated to be 11 billion years old and what is most astonishing about this calculation is that it insinuates that dense planets that were not "gas giants" (e.g. Jupiter) were able to form after the formation of the universe. The number of planets fostered by the Kepler system seems to be around 2,700. But, what is the main factor that contrubtes to the astonishment of the discovery of this planet? Well, this information suggests that extraterrestial life may be found within a few years and that is truly an exiting prospect. 

3 comments:

  1. Fascinating, because i wrote a reflection on the same article.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I enjoyed browsing through your blog. Good job! :)

    ReplyDelete