# Kepler (the instrument) finds smallest planet yet in habitable zone **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 6, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231 "2011-12-06T03:40:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/1 "2011-12-06T03:40:47Z")
Link: [http://www.nasa.gov/mission\_pages/kepler/news/kepscicon-briefing.html](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepscicon-briefing.html) Planet has a diameter 2.4 times Earths, with an orbital period of 290 days. The star it orbits (Kepler 22) is cooler than the sun, which puts the planet (Kepler-22b) in the habitable zone (liquid water) The big unknown is mass - could be rocky, but could also be a mini-Neptune very exciting Brian ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/2 "2011-12-06T03:46:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Kepler-22b is located 600 light-years away We need to find a wormhole to the planet. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/3 "2011-12-06T05:08:58Z")
Meh, probably full of life already. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/4 "2011-12-06T05:35:30Z")
So the image we’re seeing is 600 years old. If they are seeing us, they are seeing the 1400’s. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/5 "2011-12-06T05:58:20Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > So the image we’re seeing is 600 years old. If they are seeing us, they are seeing the 1400’s. Well if they use their Heisenberg Compensator and route it through the Deflector Matrix in parallel with the Flux Capacitor it should correct fr the Temporal distortion. In theory at least. …uh, I’d stand back if I were you. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/6 "2011-12-06T06:08:10Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > Well if they use their Heisenberg Compensator and route it through the Deflector Matrix in parallel with the Flux Capacitor it should correct fr the Temporal distortion. > > In theory at least. > …uh, I’d stand back if I were you. You’d just better hope they don’t have a Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/7 "2011-12-06T15:20:56Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > We need to find a wormhole to the planet. That’s pretty unlikely. :rolleyes: We need to build a wormhole generator and then create one that leads there! 🙂 Hopefully Ozzie and Nigel are already on the case. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/8 "2011-12-06T23:11:59Z")
> [@ColdPhoenix](#): > > We need to build a wormhole generator and then create one that leads there! 🙂 Assuming they don’t build one first. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/9 "2011-12-07T05:39:49Z")
More space, better weather and summer vacation more often? Let’s ditch this dump and move right now. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/10 "2011-12-07T22:47:10Z")
The local news ran a graphic with their teaser; they claimed the planet was 600,000 light years away. Wouldn’t that put it intergalactic space? ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/11 "2011-12-07T23:16:58Z")
> [@ColdPhoenix](#): > > That’s pretty unlikely. :rolleyes: > > We need to build a wormhole generator and then create one that leads there! 🙂 > > Hopefully Ozzie and Nigel are already on the case. Invent technologies & **build a spaceship** capable of space-traveling faster than the speed of light to the planet in reasonable time frame :rolleyes: vs Discover, invent technologies and build a first mini wormhole generator and learn to use it and then **develop a super mega power wormhole generator** to create a wormhole to the planet :dubious: vs Discover that the universe is full of interconnected wormholes and **Find a wormhole route to the planet**. 🆒 Do I win here? 😛 Joke aside, we all need to get to work (if the concept ‘you live through your descendants’ is correct, I regret not having any children… rascals…). ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/12 "2011-12-08T15:03:05Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > Discover that the universe is full of interconnected wormholes and **Find a wormhole route to the planet**. 🆒 Silfen paths… of course! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/13 "2011-12-08T15:07:55Z")
> [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](#): > > The local news ran a graphic with their teaser; they claimed the planet was 600,000 light years away. Wouldn’t that put it intergalactic space? Wiki says it’s 600. ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/14 "2011-12-08T15:43:13Z")
No problem, 3rd string on the left. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/15 "2011-12-08T15:58:12Z")
I have seen calculations that if you weigh 200 pounds on Earth, you would weigh about 1120 pounds on Kepler-22b… I think we found [Buck Godot’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Godot)planet. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/16 "2011-12-08T16:41:21Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > I have seen calculations that if you weigh 200 pounds on Earth, you would weigh about 1120 pounds on Kepler-22b.. > > I think we found [Buck Godot’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Godot)planet. Not really. If Kepler 22b had the same density as Earth, then gravity on its surface would be 2.4 g – A body weighing 200 pounds on Earth would weigh 480 pounds on Kepler 22b. If Kepler were less dense than Earth, gravity on its surface would be less than 2.4 g. For the weight of a 200-pound object becoming 1120 pounds on Kepler-22b, it would have to be considerably denser than Earth, which seems implausible. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/17 "2011-12-08T21:20:40Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > Not really. If Kepler 22b had the same density as Earth, then gravity on its surface would be 2.4 g – A body weighing 200 pounds on Earth would weigh 480 pounds on Kepler 22b. > > If Kepler were less dense than Earth, gravity on its surface would be less than 2.4 g. > > For the weight of a 200-pound object becoming 1120 pounds on Kepler-22b, it would have to be considerably denser than Earth, which seems implausible. It’s been a long time since physics class, so forgive this question: would it be any harder to walk on that planet? Meaning we would actually have to lift double the weight we’re accustomed to, just to walk on the surface? If so, this would make resettling impractical, unless calisthenics were practiced in increasingly-heavier gravity during the journey. The kids born on the way would cope with it a lot better than the adults, by building heavier bone density in childhood. Is this something that our bodies could learn to compensate for? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/18 "2011-12-08T21:57:36Z")
> [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](#): > > The local news ran a graphic with their teaser; they claimed the planet was 600,000 light years away. Wouldn’t that put it intergalactic space? We’d have enough trouble spotting individual stars at that distance, never mind planets. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/19 "2011-12-09T02:34:27Z")
Since this thread is a little back on track now I’ll say that my husband works for NASA/SETI on the Keplar project and says that there’s actually 28 (or so) potentially habitable planets they’ve come across, and HUNDREDS more that are still up in the air. Like 800 or something. Wild. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kepler-the-instrument-finds-smallest-planet-yet-in-habitable-zone/605231/20 "2011-12-10T20:26:41Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > It’s been a long time since physics class, so forgive this question: would it be any harder to walk on that planet? Meaning we would actually have to lift double the weight we’re accustomed to, just to walk on the surface? > > If so, this would make resettling impractical, unless calisthenics were practiced in increasingly-heavier gravity during the journey. The kids born on the way would cope with it a lot better than the adults, by building heavier bone density in childhood. Is this something that our bodies could learn to compensate for? Super heros and villains.