Relax under the two suns of Kepler 16b and skydive in the superstrong gravity of HD 40307g: Nasa reveals vintage travel poster designs for real exoplanets


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They give a retro glimpse at what holidaying on another planet could be like.

'Experience The Gravity of HD 40307g' one poster reads, listing the planet as 'A Super Earth'. 

Kepler-16b and its twin suns in ideal for sunseekers, and is 'where your shadow always has company'. 

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 Kepler-16b is a planet dubbed 'Tatooine' because of its system's resemblance to Luke Skywalker's home in Star Wars with its two suns.

 Kepler-16b is a planet dubbed 'Tatooine' because of its system's resemblance to Luke Skywalker's home in Star Wars with its two suns.

The posters were created by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Lab, and are marked as coming from the Exoplanet Travel Bureau. 

Kepler-16b  is a planet dubbed 'Tatooine' because of its system's resemblance to Luke Skywalker's home in Star Wars. 

It was spotted by Nasa's Kepler spacecraft in 2012 by catching a dips in starlight as the planet passed in front of its star. 

Kepler-16b could be a rocky planet (as pictured here) or a gas giant like Saturn. 

'This discovery is stunning,' Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Terrestrial Magnetism said when it was discovered.

'Once again, what used to be science fiction has turned into reality.'

Binary stars - two suns turning around each other - have been seen before, and astronomers have suspected planets exist around them, but Kepler's observations are the first to confirm it. 

Kepler-186f was the first Earth-size planet astronomers ever found inside the 'Goldilocks' or 'habitable' zone around another star.

Kepler-186f was the first Earth-size planet astronomers ever found inside the 'Goldilocks' or 'habitable' zone around another star.

Kepler-186f was the first Earth-size planet astronomers ever found inside the 'Goldilocks' or 'habitable' zone around another star, where moderate temperatures could allow for the presence of liquid water.

It circles a red dwarf star 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. A light-year is almost 6 trillion miles.

The planet is about 10 percent larger than Earth and may very well have liquid water — a key ingredient for life — on its surface, scientists said. That is because it resides at the outer edge of the habitable temperature zone around its star — the sweet spot where lakes, rivers or oceans can exist without freezing solid or boiling away.

The planet probably basks in an orange-red glow from its star and is most likely cooler than Earth, with an average temperature slightly above freezing, "similar to dawn or dusk on a spring day," Marcy said.

The final destination on offer, HD 40307g, is a planet twice as voluminous as earth with eight times its mass

It orbits at about the same distance from its sun, meaning it receives a similar amount of solar energy as Earth gets - increasing chances it may be habitable.

Kepler-186f was the first Earth-size planet astronomers ever found inside the 'Goldilocks' or 'habitable' zone around another star - and according to Nasa could be perfect for extreme sports enthusiasts.

Kepler-186f was the first Earth-size planet astronomers ever found inside the 'Goldilocks' or 'habitable' zone around another star - and according to Nasa could be perfect for extreme sports enthusiasts.

The posters were revealed a day after eight new planets have been discovered in the 'Goldilocks' zone of their stars, orbiting at a distance where oceans and life could exist.

The discovery doubles the number of small planets less than twice the diameter of Earth which are believed to be in the habitable zone of their parent stars.

Among these eight, astronomers say there are two that are the most similar to Earth of any known exoplanets to date.

The eight new planets have been discovered in the 'Goldilocks' zone of their stars, orbiting at a distance where oceans and life could exist.

The eight new planets have been discovered in the 'Goldilocks' zone of their stars, orbiting at a distance where oceans and life could exist.

'Most of these planets have a good chance of being rocky, like Earth,' said lead scientist Dr Guillermo Torres, from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, US.

The two most Earth-like planets, known as Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b, both orbit red dwarf stars that are smaller and cooler than the sun.

With a diameter just 12 per cent bigger than Earth, Kepler-438b has a 70 per cent chance of being rocky, the scientists have calculated.

Kepler-442b is about one-third larger than Earth, and the likelihood of it being rocky is around 60 per cent.

The two most Earth-like planets, known as Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b, both orbit red dwarf stars that are smaller and cooler than the sun. An artist's impression is pictured

The two most Earth-like planets, known as Kepler-438b and Kepler-442b, both orbit red dwarf stars that are smaller and cooler than the sun. An artist's impression is pictured

The Goldilocks zone is the belt around a star where temperatures are ideal for liquid water to pool on a planet

The Goldilocks zone is the belt around a star where temperatures are ideal for liquid water to pool on a planet

To be in the habitable zone, also known as the 'Goldilocks zone', a planet must be not too hot or too cold and receive roughly as much sunlight as Earth.

Too much heat from its star, and any water would boil away as steam. Too little, and the water would freeze solid.

WHAT IS THE GOLDILOCKS ZONE?

The Goldilocks zone is the belt around a star where temperatures are ideal for liquid water to pool on a planet's surface.

To determine the location of a star's habitable zone, scientists have to first learn how much total radiation it emits.

Knowing precisely how far away a habitable zone needs to be from a star also depends on chemistry.

For example, molecules in a planet's atmosphere will absorb a certain amount of energy from starlight and radiate the rest back out.

How much of this energy is trapped can mean the difference between a turquoise sea and erupting volcanoes.

Researchers in Scotland now claim that Earth-sized planets could support life at least 10 times further away from stars than first thought.

'For our calculations we chose to adopt the broadest possible limits that can plausibly lead to suitable conditions for life,' Dr Torres added.

Kepler-438b receives about 40 per cent more light than the Earth giving it a 70 per cent probability of having a habitable zone orbit. In comparison, baking hot Venus has twice as much.

The other star gets about two-thirds as much light as Earth and is 97 per cent likely to be in the habitable zone.

Co-author Dr David Kipping, also from the Centre for Astrophysics, said: 'We don't know for sure whether any of the planets in our sample are truly habitable. All we can say is that they're promising candidates.'

Neither of the planets are our close neighbours. Kepler-438b is located 470 light-years from Earth while the more distant Kepler-442b is 1,100 light-years away.

The team, whose findings were presented at the American Astronomical Society's annual meeting in Washington DC, studied planetary candidates first identified by Nasa's Kepler space telescope.

All the planets were too small to confirm by measuring their masses. Instead, they were validated using a computer program that determined they were statistically likely to be planets.

After the analysis, follow-up observations showed that four of the planets were in multiple star systems.

The research is also published in the Astrophysical Journal.

An artist's impression of an Earth-like planet orbiting a star that has formed a planetary nebula. Earlier in its life, this planet may have resembled the newly discovered Kepler 438b

An artist's impression of an Earth-like planet orbiting a star that has formed a planetary nebula. Earlier in its life, this planet may have resembled the newly discovered Kepler 438b



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