Mission Overview
Kepler Mission Scientific Objective:
The scientific objective of the Kepler Mission is to explore the structure and diversity of planetary systems. This is achieved by surveying a large sample of stars to:
Source:
http://kepler.nasa.gov/Mission/QuickGuide/
- Determine the abundance of terrestrial and larger planets in or near the habitable zone of a wide variety of stars;
- Determine the distribution of sizes and shapes of the orbits of these planets;
- Estimate how many planets there are in multiple-star systems;
- Determine the variety of orbit sizes and planet reflectivities, sizes, masses and densities of short-period giant planets;
- Identify additional members of each discovered planetary system using other techniques; and
- Determine the properties of those stars that harbor planetary systems.
- By identifying the common stellar characteristics of host stars for future planet searches,
- By defining the volume of space needed for the search and
- By allowing SIM to target systems already known to have terrestrial planets.
Source:
http://kepler.nasa.gov/Mission/QuickGuide/
The Kepler Mission and Spacecraft
Are we alone in this universe? This has been one of science's biggest questions for centuries. This question, until recently, has been tabled as there has been no solid evidence that extraterrestrial life can exist. In recent years however there have been discoveries of hundreds of planets orbiting stars near and far. This very discovery is what revamped the search for alien life forms and is fueling the Kepler Mission.
The Kepler Mission, launched in March 2009, was named after Johannes Kepler. Kepler will be searching for planets in other solar systems which are similar to our own earth. This means that the planets that are being searched for will be anywhere from one-half to twice the size of earth, and in what scientists call the habitable zone. The habitable zone is the distance from a particular star in which liquid water can exist on a planet. The Kepler Mission will be directing it's attention to a specific part of the Milky Way Galaxy that is in our general neighborhood. In fact, at any given time the Kepler spacecraft will be monitoring over 145,000 main sequence stars using it's photometer. This instrument will detect planets which come between the photometer and the star. Using data collected NASA scientists will be able to determine the size of the planet, the size of the star, and the temperature of the planet. This valuable data will intern be used to determine whether or not the planet is fit to support life.
The Kepler Mission resembles science fiction as we move towards the future of astronomy and understanding our universe. With recent discoveries of distant planets the question of extraterrestrial life has been re-kindled. Thanks to NASA and the Kepler Mission within the next few years we may make great progress to finding the answer. With hundreds or even thousands of planetary candidates on Kepler's horizon the next few years will surely be very exciting the in the field of astronomy and science.
Sources:
Van Dijk, Alexander. "Kepler Overview." www.nasa.gov. National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, 8 Nov. 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/overview/index.html>.
The Kepler Mission, launched in March 2009, was named after Johannes Kepler. Kepler will be searching for planets in other solar systems which are similar to our own earth. This means that the planets that are being searched for will be anywhere from one-half to twice the size of earth, and in what scientists call the habitable zone. The habitable zone is the distance from a particular star in which liquid water can exist on a planet. The Kepler Mission will be directing it's attention to a specific part of the Milky Way Galaxy that is in our general neighborhood. In fact, at any given time the Kepler spacecraft will be monitoring over 145,000 main sequence stars using it's photometer. This instrument will detect planets which come between the photometer and the star. Using data collected NASA scientists will be able to determine the size of the planet, the size of the star, and the temperature of the planet. This valuable data will intern be used to determine whether or not the planet is fit to support life.
The Kepler Mission resembles science fiction as we move towards the future of astronomy and understanding our universe. With recent discoveries of distant planets the question of extraterrestrial life has been re-kindled. Thanks to NASA and the Kepler Mission within the next few years we may make great progress to finding the answer. With hundreds or even thousands of planetary candidates on Kepler's horizon the next few years will surely be very exciting the in the field of astronomy and science.
Sources:
Van Dijk, Alexander. "Kepler Overview." www.nasa.gov. National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, 8 Nov. 2011. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/overview/index.html>.
How does it work?
In order to detect extrasolar planets, the Kepler spacecraft will be using the transit method to find them. A transit is when a planet crosses in front of the star it is orbiting. The brightness of the star is dimmed just a tad (the change is about 1/10,000) and the Kepler spacecraft will be able to record this change. Sometimes the planet takes an hour to pass, other times it can be longer than 10 hours. This can happen with any body passing a star, but in order for it to be considered a planet it must happen regularly. It must cause the same amount in change of the stars brightness every time it happens. It also must last the same amount of time every time.
Using Keplers Third Law (The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit) and how long it takes for the planet to go around the star, the planets orbital size is able to be figured out. Other factors about the planet are also able to be determined, like the size and temperature. By finding out the temperature, one is able to figure out if it habitable or not for life.
Using Keplers Third Law (The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit) and how long it takes for the planet to go around the star, the planets orbital size is able to be figured out. Other factors about the planet are also able to be determined, like the size and temperature. By finding out the temperature, one is able to figure out if it habitable or not for life.