La existencia de un mundo con una puesta de sol doble es ahora un hecho científico. La misión Kepler de la NASA ha realizado la primera detección inequívoca de un planeta circumbinary (circumbinary planet)- un planeta que orbita dos estrellas, a 200 años-luz de la Tierra. El planeta, Kepler 16b es frío, gaseoso. Kepler es la primera misión de la NASA capaz de encontrar planetas del tamaño de la Tierra en o cerca de la "zona habitable", la región en un sistema planetario en donde puede existir agua líquida en la superficie del planeta en órbita.
"This discovery confirms a new class of planetary systems that could harbor life," Kepler principal investigator William Borucki said. "Given that most stars in our galaxy are part of a binary system, this means the opportunities for life are much broader than if planets form only around single stars. This milestone discovery confirms a theory that scientists have had for decades but could not prove until now.
Scientists detected the new planet in the Kepler-16 system, a pair of orbiting stars that eclipse each other from our vantage point on Earth. When the smaller star partially blocks the larger star, a primary eclipse occurs, and a secondary eclipse occurs when the smaller star is occulted, or completely blocked, by the larger star.
Astronomers further observed that the brightness of the system dipped even when the stars were not eclipsing one another, hinting at a third body. The additional dimming in brightness events, called the tertiary and quaternary eclipses, reappeared at irregular intervals of time, indicating the stars were in different positions in their orbit each time the third body passed. This showed the third body was circling, not just one, but both stars, in a wide circumbinary orbit.
Key Kepler-16b Announcement Slides
- Eclipsing binary stars light curve
- Kepler-16 light curve
- Deviation of eclipse occurences
- Kepler-16 system overlaid on our inner solar system
Other Kepler Image and Video Resources
- Video: Kepler Field of View
- Video: Kepler Overview
- Video: Transit Light Curve
- For more Kepler images, visit http://kepler.nasa.gov/multimedia/.
- NASA image usage policy
Past Kepler Discoveries
- Jan. 4, 2010: NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope Discovers its First Five Exoplanets
- June 15, 2010: NASA Releases Kepler Data on Potential Extrasolar Planets
- Aug. 26, 2010: NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Two Planets Transiting the Same Star
- Jan. 10, 2011: NASA'S Kepler Mission Discovers Its First Rocky Planet
- Feb. 2, 2011: NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Discovers Extraordinary New Planetary System
- Feb. 2, 2011: NASA Finds Earth-size Planet Candidates in the Habitable Zone
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