Compare all star systems found by the Kepler telescope with the solar system
" Kepler " - astronomical NASA satellite, equipped with a super-sensitive photometer specifically designed to search for exoplanets. This is the first spacecraft created for this purpose. It is named after the German mathematician and astronomer who discovered the laws of planetary motion. The observatory could simultaneously observe more than 100 thousand stars. The presence of a planet in a star is determined by periodic changes in the brightness of the star caused by transits - the passage of the planet in front of the star.
The space telescope began its work in 2009. Since that time, the system has helped scientists discover more than 1,700 exoplanets in 685 stellar systems. Among other finds are earth-like planets, among which, theoretically, there may be planets with the presence of liquid water and suitable conditions for the existence of life.
Kepler has several tasks at once, including the following:
- Determination of the existence of earth-like planets in other stellar systems;
- Determining the presence of other types of planets in other stellar systems;
- Determination of the parameters of the orbits of these planets;
- Estimation of the total number of exoplanets;
- Studying the properties of stars in those systems where exoplanets were discovered.
One of the most interesting finds of the Keple telescope was the KIC 8462852 system. The luminosity of a star in this system varies, and very much. Moreover, the algorithm for changing luminosity is very strange. Astronomers immediately put forward several assumptions about this behavior of the star. One of them - KIC 8462852 has a Dyson sphere, the work of other civilizations.
A little later, experts came to the conclusion that here, most likely, the idea is about the presence of a whole swarm of comets , which, rotating in very elongated elliptical orbits, pass in front of the star’s disk, closing it from Earth observers.
Be that as it may, among the telescope finds there are other interesting objects. What they are and how much they differ from the solar system can be seen below.
The author of the animation is YouTuber Ethan Kruse .