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Kepler discovers smallest planet yet: the size of the Moon
http://is.gd/yr49bP
"A newfound world called Kepler 37 b could easily blend in to the long and growing list of known extrasolar planets, given its nondescript name. But the new addition to the catalogue of 800-plus exoplanets stands out in at least one major respect—it is far smaller than any planet yet discovered outside of our solar system. In fact, it is just a shade larger than Earth’s moon." What's interesting here is that Kepler was originally supposed to be only sensitive enough to find planets as small as the Earth. In fact, it was hailed as a major milestone when a planet the size of the Earth was found, but it's gradually finding planets even smaller, such as ones as small as Mars, and now one as small as the Moon. That means Kepler's sensitivity is much higher than they expected. Yousuf Khan |
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