Super-Earths? Hot-Jupiters? Habitable zones, sun-like stars, Earth-like planets? What does it all mean?
Sure, we all have a grasp as to what it would mean if astronomers found an exoplanet roughly the same size as the Earth, orbiting within the "Goldilocks Zone" of its parent star -- i.e., it's not too hot or too cold for liquid water to exist on the surface. When one of those bad boys are discovered, the next question would be: "Where's the life?"
WIDE ANGLE: The Age of the Exoplanet
But how close are we getting to that fabled Earth-like exoplanet ("exoEarth"? Or ExoEarth™? You heard it here first)? Well, this outstanding animation might be able to help out, courtesy of Jer Thorp, Data Artist in Residence at the New York Times:
Kepler Exoplanet Candidates from blprnt on Vimeo.
What are we seeing here? Well, as per Jer's Vimeo description:
This is a visualization of the 1236 exoplanet candidates observed by Kepler.
As you can see, the vast majority of these planets orbit their stars at a distance less than Earth. This is likely due to the relatively short observation period - it is highly probable that many more planets will be found as the duration of study increases.
Two candidates are highlighed: KOI 326.01 and KOI 314.02. Out of all the candidates, those two may have the best chances of satisfying some of the "habitability" criteria astronomers tend to use.
By throwing all of the 1236 exoplanets recently announced by the Kepler science team into one "solar system," one can get a very real sense about how far the planetary candidates are from their parent star, their temperatures and relative sizes.
NEWS: Exoplanet Bonanza Boosts Count by 1,200
Jer has also singled out KOI 326.01 and KOI 314.02, because they are Kepler candidates (or "Kepler Objects of Interest," hence the "KOI" designation) that are considered to be most "Earth-like." When the characteristics of our very own Mercury, Earth, Mars and Jupiter are thrown in, you can easily see how alien many of these newly discovered worlds really are.
To be honest, I think the animation speaks for itself; a wonderful melding of space and art.
Source: Physics World
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