Planets With Double Sunset Found

strawberry_shisha
By strawberry_shisha




NASA handout image shows an artist's concept of the planet Kepler-16b with its two stars. The cold planet, with its gaseous surface, is not thought to be habitable. The largest of the two stars, a K dwarf, is about 69% the mass of our sun, and the smallest, a red dwarf, is about 20% the sun's mass. These star pairs are called eclipsing binaries. REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt/Handout

WASHINGTON - When the day ends on planet Kepler-16b there is a double sunset, scientists reported on Thursday in the journal Science.

In a scene reminiscent of science fiction, researchers using observations from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft have detected a distant planet orbiting two waltzing stars, the first time such a phenomenon has been confirmed.

“This is really a stunning measurement by Kepler,” said Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science, a co-author of the study. “The real exciting thing is there’s a planet sitting out there orbiting around these two stars.”

Binary stars — two suns turning around each other — have been seen before, and astronomers have suspected planets exist around them, but Kepler’s observations are the first to confirm it.

The gravitational pull of two stars, even stars like the relatively small ones at the heart of this stellar system, would be quite different from the gravity exerted by just one star, Boss said by telephone.

Kepler’s mission is to scour our section of the Milky Way galaxy for Earth-like planets in the so-called “habitable zone“ that is not too close and not too far away from the stars they orbit.

Read more:

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/2011/09/17/18700236.html

By anonymous• 28 Sep 2011 08:03
Rating: 3/5
anonymous

Statistically supernovae happen about once every 50 years in our galaxy!

By FathimaH• 28 Sep 2011 05:30
Rating: 3/5
FathimaH

Sounds amazing...one sunset is beautiful enough, but two?Awesome!

By Dewanti• 28 Sep 2011 04:14
Dewanti

I wanna see .... hu hu hu ... Awesome !!!!!

By anonymous• 27 Sep 2011 23:29
Rating: 4/5
anonymous

SS, lets keep our finger crossed for betelgeuse becoming a supernova. if it happens in our life times, although the chances are faint, we will be the lucky ones after many centuries of human habitatation on earth, to see a supernova with our naked eyes. only very big stars become supernova before dying so its not a very common sight in the universe!!

By strawberry_shisha• 27 Sep 2011 22:15
strawberry_shisha

dk, wow sounds interesting..i'm wondering if i'm still alive should it happens.. ;)

By anonymous• 27 Sep 2011 22:03
Rating: 5/5
anonymous

Some say if the big star like Betelgeuse of the Orion becomes a supernova, which may happen anytime now, there would be two suns in the sky of our earth as well.

The Maya civilization predicted that its going to happen in 2012 but again we can't rely on them..

By Tandurifish• 27 Sep 2011 17:44
Tandurifish

So u wanna tell that soon u r going shift to that new two suns land... :?

By Bark_Scorpion• 27 Sep 2011 17:42
Rating: 4/5
Bark_Scorpion

Will i ever see this in Qatar?

By britexpat• 27 Sep 2011 14:53
Rating: 5/5
britexpat

Nothing new - Tatooine had the twin suns which were a great sight at sunset since they are both different colours.

Ofcourse Caladan also has three suns which can be hell during the summer.

By GodFather.• 27 Sep 2011 14:21
GodFather.

yes LP I can see that God has taken his Angels away..:)

By Rizks• 27 Sep 2011 14:19
Rating: 4/5
Rizks

Huh UkEng, i dont need to sleep - i have them always besides me in the evenings after dinner and before i go to bed....:)

By anonymous• 27 Sep 2011 14:19
anonymous

The angels are gone. No wonder I can't find them.

By GodFather.• 27 Sep 2011 14:17
Rating: 5/5
GodFather.

Yes Rizks its very easy.. Just fall asleep at your car wheel while travelling to work tomorrow morning you will wake up with angels beside you!..:)

By Rizks• 27 Sep 2011 14:15
Rating: 4/5
Rizks

I likes to see double sunsets with Angles beside me  ! :)

By GodFather.• 27 Sep 2011 14:13
GodFather.

Rizks, may you enjoy heaven with your angel and see the planets with the double sunsets..:)

By GodFather.• 27 Sep 2011 13:23
GodFather.

wow hope to see it one day!

By anonymous• 27 Sep 2011 13:21
anonymous

And here is the NASA report with animations:http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepler-16b.html

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