Astronomy in the Real World

Astronomy in the Real World — page 5
IN THE REAL WORLD Kepler-438b In January 2015 astronomer Guillermo Torres announced the discovery of two new planets Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b Kepler-438b was in what astronomers call the Goldilocks zone This means that the planet is at a particular distance from its star It is not too hot and not too cold Liquid water can exist on the surface If liquid water can exist life might be able to survive there Earth is in the Goldilocks zone around the sun Everyone in attendance listened closely The team of scientists began detailing what they had learned The scientists had spent many months studying data The Kepler space telescope had gathered the data Now they announced the big news The team had discovered two new planets The new planets took the names Kepler 438b and Kepler-442b They were the 438th and 442nd planets found using Kepler These new worlds were special The team believed liquid water might exist on their surfaces 6