Scientists confirm the existence of 1284 new planets! – Scientias.nl

Never before were promoted in one go as many candidate exoplanets to exoplanet.

Space Telescope Kepler discovered one after another planet. So does the telescope to gaze long into stars. When the brightness of stars which decreases with frequency, which may indicate the presence of a planet. When Kepler in this manner detected a planet, this is not simply added to the list, known to us exoplanets. First the planet through life as candidate extrasolar planet: the planet must exist to be confirmed. Only when the probability that we are actually a planet have greater than 99 percent change in the status of a candidate exoplanet in exoplanet.

a dip in the brightness of stars is a planet, but also be caused by other phenomena in space. Image: NASA Ames / W. Stenzel

1284 planets richer
Scientists have now about 4302 candidate planets discovered by Kepler and bent. can at once confirm the existence of extrasolar planets in 1284. 1327 applies to other candidate planets that the probability that the planets are indeed, very great, but not greater than 99 percent. These planets will be so further attention. The remaining 707 candidate planets are unlikely exoplanets.

New statistical method
Never before have researchers at once confirmed the existence of so many planets. It’s all thanks to a new statistical method that can be released simultaneously in many candidate planets. “You can see candidate planets like bread crumbs,” said researcher Timothy Morton. “If you have a few large crumbs on the floor drops, take them one by one pick. But if you have a whole bag of small crumbs drop, you need a broom. This statistical analysis is our broom “During the analysis, researchers are actually two questions. The detected signal appears (dip) on a planet? How common is it that another celestial body (for example, a small star) occurs before the eyes of Kepler as a planet? Combining that information, researchers can determine how likely it is that Kepler spotted by a dip in the brightness of a star will actually caused by a planet. The chance is greater than 99 percent, then the candidate exoplanet ‘validated’

The new validation method in image. Image: NASA Ames / W. Stenzel; Princeton University / T. Morton.

Nine potentially habitable planets
And now that so happened to 1284 candidate exoplanets. Bringing the total number of validated exoplanets, discovered more than doubled by Kepler. Nearly 550 of these planets are in 1248 – judging by their size – possibly just like our planet rocky. Nine of the validated planets 1284 are located in the habitable zone (they are located on the right distance from their star to be able to hold liquid water on their surface). With these nine potentially habitable planets brings the total number of exoplanets in the habitable zone 21

An overview of the discovered so far by Kepler and validated exoplanets. In the blue extrasolar planets whose very existence was proved earlier. The orange exoplanets whose existence is now proved. Image: NASA Ames / W. Stenzel

Scientists are delighted with the large number of exoplanets validated at once.. “It gives us hope that we are somewhere around a star similar to our own, eventually discover another Earth,” says researcher Ellen Stofan.