Kepler

Kepler

Several days back, scientists announced the discovery of a planet in the habitable zone called Kepler-22b. It is located about 600 light-years away, orbiting a sun-like star. If the greenhouse effect operates there similarly to how it does on Earth, the average surface temperature on Kepler-22b would be 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius).

This is only the beginning, considering the Kepler spacecraft has already detected more than 1,000 exoplanets. The far more interesting discovery will be the determination of the planet's chemical make-up.

There is new software being creating to assist with the rendering of exoplanets, but in the meantime here's an artist's rendition of what the planet may look like.

Artist's Rendition of Kepler-22b

Jupiter's Moon Europa

New Finding Ups the Chances of Life on Jupiter's Moon Europa

Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus showed potential, and now Jupiter's moon Europa is showing promise for life-sustaining conditions even if they may be buried deep in its crust.

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Europa's "Great Lake." Scientists speculate many more exist throughout the shallow regions of the moon's icy shell.
Credit:Britney Schmidt/Dead Pixel VFX/Univ. of Texas at Austin

Saturn's Rings Photograph

Saturn's Rings Photograph

Beautiful photo taken of Saturn and its rings by the Cassini spacecraft. I had a bit of an obsession with the Cassini-Huygens craft since it began orbiting Saturn in 2004.

I vividly remember being at work and constantly refreshing my web browser to catch glimpses of Huygens descending through Titan's, Saturn's largest satellite, atmosphere. Titan's thick atmosphere is believed to resemble an early Earth. There were numerous glitches with the data feed, but I was excited to see the first image that showed the surface to resemble a squishy Mars.

Saturn [Image credit: NASA]

Is the Rocky Alien Planet Gliese 581d Really Habitable?

I am a science nut. So stuff like this really interests me. I also enjoy a good artist's rendition. Artists always make the scene much more spectacular than it actually is.

Image released by European Southern Observatory

An image released by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) shows an artist's impression of the atmosphere around a super-Earth exoplanet, the name given to rocky exoplanets only a few times larger than our own. Gliese 581d, a rocky world orbiting a nearby star, has been confirmed as the first planet outside our solar system to meet key requirements for sustaining life, scientists say.

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