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Coordinates: Sky map 18h 46m 35.000s, +41° 57′ 03.93″
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Revision as of 04:03, 4 April 2016

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Kepler-438b (also known by its Kepler Object of Interest designation KOI-3284.01) is a confirmed near-Earth-sized exoplanet, likely rocky, orbiting within the habitable zone of the red dwarf[1] Kepler-438, about 470 light-years (145 pc) from Earth in the constellation Lyra.[2][3] The planet was discovered by NASA's Kepler spacecraft using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured. NASA announced the confirmation of the exoplanet on 6 January 2015.[2] As of June 2015, it is the most Earth-like exoplanet.[4]

Kepler-438b is 475 light years from Earth, so travelling there is presently impossible. The German-designed Helios probes, notable for having set the current speed record among spacecraft at 252,792 km/h, would take some two million years to travel to Kepler-438b.[5]

Basic data

Kepler-438b is a near-Earth-sized exoplanet with a radius 1.12 times that of Earth. The planet orbits the red dwarf[1] Kepler-438, a star considerably smaller and cooler than the Sun, once every 35.2 days.[2][3]

Habitability

The planet was announced as orbiting within the habitable zone of Kepler-438, a region where liquid water could exist on the surface of the planet. In the Earth Similarity Index (ESI), which measures how similar are planets to Earth as to physics and chemistry, with 1.00 being the most similar, Kepler-438b has an index of 0.88, the highest known to date, making it currently the most Earth-like planet.[2][3] However it has been found that this planet is subjected to superflare activity from its parent star every 100 days, much more violent storms than the stellar flares emitted by the Sun and which would be capable of sterilizing life on Earth.[6]

Researchers at the University of Warwick say that Kepler-438b is not habitable after all due to the large amount of radiation it receives.[7]

Notable Exoplanets – Kepler Space Telescope
Confirmed small exoplanets in habitable zones.
(Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f, Kepler-186f, Kepler-296e, Kepler-296f, Kepler-438b, Kepler-440b, Kepler-442b)
(Kepler Space Telescope; 6 January 2015).[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Gilster, Paul (6 January 2015). "AAS: 8 New Planets in Habitable Zone". Centauri-dreams.org. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference NASA-20150106 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference TG-20150107-IS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "10 Real Planets That Are Stranger Than Science Fiction". Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  5. ^ Alien earth 'could support life', but what is Kepler 438b like?
  6. ^ Perkins, Sid (2015). "Earth-like planet may be not so hospitable after all, thanks to blasts of radiation". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aad7455. ISSN 0036-8075.
  7. ^ 'Earth-like' Exoplanet Likely Not Habitable
Cite error: A list-defined reference named "Keplercitepaper-060115" is not used in the content (see the help page).
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