But it is located so far away that in reality we do not see it, remarked Michel Viso, head of exobiology at the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES). So how the US space agency (Nasa) has she been able to describe it?
“What we see is a varying light curve,” says the specialist. Our cousin was detected by the Kepler telescope was launched into orbit in 2009.Une discovery possible through the transit method. If it involves mathematical models and scientific calculations, its principle is simple: measure the light emitted by a star and detect its changes. “When this variation is not due to a stain on the star or a change in its diameter, that is that an object is inserted between the telescope and the star. “
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A new cousin of the Earth
It is after having observed – three times – the same decrease in brightness after the same interval that we eliminated the thesis of a simple chance: it is indeed a planet orbiting its star . Certainly, according to NASA, 1029 other exoplanets have been discovered (one, Kepler-186f, last year, already presented as a potential Earth twin). What puzzles this time is that, despite its 1.5 billion years more and diameter 60% larger, the characteristics of our new cousin substantially similar to those of Earth, “with a period 385 days of revolution and an orbit that places it in a habitable zone, “says Michel Viso. Kepler- 452b may be provided with an atmosphere, harbor water in the liquid state, and perhaps life. “But it is still necessary to determine the mass,” moderates the scientist, whether Kepler-452b is rocky like Earth, “that one can suppose.”
Whatever Regardless, the message of Michel Viso is clear: “The journey of Kepler-452b is not feasible. The question that we can ask for now is whether we will ever be able to observe it. “
According to him, the answer is yes, and the 2025-2035 horizon, he predicts. The launch in 2018 of the James Webb telescope, the most powerful in the world, developed jointly by NASA and the European and Canadian space agencies could already see “the starlight reflected by exoplanets closest to us.”
VIDEO. Discovery of a new exoplanet similar to Earth
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