Scientists are trying hard to confirm whether the Earth is the only planet in this vast universe where life exists. They have been conducting research to find the existence of life outside the Earth for a long time. On July 23, 2015, scientists discovered Kepler-452b (sometimes quoted to be an Earth 2.0 or Earth's Cousin based on its characteristics), a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting within the inner edge of the habitable zone of the Sun-like star Kepler-452. It is the only planet in the system discovered by Kepler, a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. According to the US space agency, the planet is located about 1,800 light-years away from the Earth in the constellation of Cygnus.
Kepler's sole scientific instrument is basically a photometer that continually monitors the brightness of approximately 150,000 main sequence stars in a fixed field of view. These data were transmitted to the Earth, then analysed to detect periodic dimming caused by exoplanets that cross in front of their host star. Kepler detects only planets whose orbits are seen edge-on from the Earth. It observed 530,506 stars and detected 2,778 confirmed planets as of June 16, 2023. The space telescope discovered Kepler-452b during a mission to search for Earth-like planets in different galaxies. NASA scientists concentrate on further research on those planets where water is believed to be found.
So far, the Kepler spacecraft has found about 1,000 exoplanets (planets orbiting a star or the remnants of a star), which includes planets that simultaneously orbit two stars. According to NASA scientists, Kepler-452, the star that Kepler-452b orbits, has a lot in common with the Sun. Kepler-452b is about 60% larger than the Earth, and it orbits its own Sun Kepler-452 in 385 days. In other words, Kepler-452b takes only 20 days more than the Earth to orbit its Sun. Although NASA scientists are yet to have detailed information about the soil of Kepler-452b, they believe that the soil of that planet is rocky.
Kepler-452 is quite similar to the Sun… just 10% larger in size. Kepler-452 is six-billion-year-old, or 1.5 billion years older than the Sun. As Kepler-452b is located about 1,800 light-years away from the Earth, it is not possible for astronomers to reach there. Scientists are of the opinion that life may exist on this planet.
Meanwhile, scientists have claimed that a volcano was once surrounded by water on Mars. The highest point on the Earth is the top of Mount Everest (8,848mt). No higher place than Mount Everest has yet been discovered on the Planet Earth. However, the neighbouring planet, Mars, has mountains at least two and a half times Mount Everest's height above sea level! Olympus Mons is over 21.9km (or 72,000ft) high, as measured by the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). Olympus Mons is basically a large shield volcano on Mars. According to researchers, it is one of the largest volcanoes and tallest planetary mountain of Mars that is approximately tied with Rheasilvia, the tallest mountain currently discovered in the Solar System. Olympus Mons erupted 25 million years ago for the last time. There is no peak (like a mountain) in Olympus Mons, as it has only a volcanic crater. Scientists have proof that once there was water around it.
It may be noted that Rheasilvia is the most prominent surface feature on the asteroid Vesta, as it is thought to be an impact crater. Rheasilvia is 505km in diameter, which is 90% the diameter of Vesta itself and 95% the mean diameter of Vesta (529km). The peak in the centre of the crater is 200km in diameter, and rises 22.5km (or 74,000ft) from its base, making it one of the tallest mountains known in the Solar System.
NASA had organised its first Mars Mission in the 1970s. Since then, it has sent spacecraft to the Red Planet several times. The US space agency discovered Olympus Mons during an expedition in 1971. It was caught on camera installed in NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft that arrived in orbit around Mars in 1971 during a global dust-storm. The Mars Express camera of the European Space Agency (ESA) recently captured some amazing images of this dome-shaped volcano. The ESA's camera has spotted aureoles around Olympus Mons, providing evidence of its volcanic past. Olympus has been seen surrounded by some circles of bright red light from space. These aureoles, which are nearly 1,000km wide, bear the history of Olympus.
Scientists are of the opinion that the soil of Mars was overturned around Olympus several billion years ago. Olympus released a huge amount of lava during the eruptions, triggering landslides in Mars. Landslides reportedly shook the base of Olympus, and part of the mountain began to fall. Scientists believe that a part of the volcano collapsed due to landslides. There was a layer of ice deep beneath the soil of Olympus. It shook the entire volcanic mountain, apart from disrupting large areas of the planet.
Scientists have claimed that there was a similarity between landslides in Mars and earth-slips in Hawaii, as well as on the Canary Islands. Just as there is water around the Canary Islands, there was also a huge ocean on Mars. Yelwa Crater is also seen in an image captured by the Mars Express camera. The distance between Yelwa Crater and Olympus Mons is nearly 1,000km, and the depth of this crater is 8km, almost equal to Mount Everest. Yelwa Crater carries evidence of the destruction of Olympus. This crater, thousands of kilometres away, is the proof of how far debris of the Olympus was spread before its destruction due to landslides.
Images captured by Mars Express camera also bear signs of the disaster on Mars. What appears to be aureoles from space is actually the debris around Olympus Mons. With the passage of time, the debris has settled down and formed new landforms. In 2014, India became the fourth country to successfully send an artificial satellite into Mars orbit, and the first country to do so in the first attempt. Roscosmos (Russia), NASA (the US) and the ESA, too, had sent satellites into Mars orbit after making multiple attempts.
The global community has a curiosity about the Red Planet. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has collected various data from Mars over the years. The Indian space agency has expressed hope that it would collect more valuable data from the Red Planet before sending spacecraft to Mars in the future.
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