Is There Life Out There?
Life could be in outer space . . .
Kepler has found planets like ours orbiting stars . . .
Earth has it all -- the proper of amount of water and proper distance from the sun, the right size and structure, and the right type of atmosphere. But, there are many other planets the Kepler Spacecraft has found and some have the possibilities of having life.
What makes life potential on a planet? Well, there are four factors that need to take place for it to happen. First, like Earth, it needs to have the proper distance from the sun. If the planet it too close to the sun, it will overheat and the water will melt into vapor. If the planet is too far from the sun, it will freeze and life will not be possible. Second, a planet needs to have the right amount water. A little too water would cause the planet to be overly dry and a little too much water would lead to eventually having no land. Third, the planet needs to be the right size and structure. The larger a planet gets, there's more gravity. The more gravity, the more dense the atmosphere is, making it harder to live. Last, a planet needs the right type of atmosphere. The planet will need to contain a gravitational pull to form an atmosphere of the gasses we need to survive. Also, it needs a magnetic field to protect the atmosphere from solar winds.
Astronomers have found Kepler-452b from the Kepler Spacecraft, and the chances of life on it are very possible. Kepler-452b is the closest match to Earth yet. It's 60% larger than Earth which holds enough gravity and orbits a Sun-like star in a 385 day period. That puts it in the habitable zone since the time of one orbit tells us the distance from its star. Also, Kepler-452b is about 1.5 billion years older than Earth, giving that much more time for life to have evolved there.
Kepler Spacecraft
One Moon of Saturn's
Our Solar System
Interview
I interviewed people about what they thought about life being possible on other planets . . .
Citations
- http://kepler.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=393
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler_(spacecraft)
- http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/index.cfm?SciencePageID=73
- http://smrtenglish.com/smrt/lesson/3477
- http://www.theweek.co.uk/64515/earth-20-could-life-exist-on-newly-discovered-planet