Astronomers find ‘Jupiter’s Missing Twin’: The discovery story is just as interesting

Astronomers continue to use data from space telescopes to find new exoplanets and potentially habitable planets. Kepler Space Telescope, which has done successful work in this regard, Although it has been years since his retirement It still manages to sign new discoveries with the data obtained.

Kepler Space Telescope in the endless emptiness of space With his discoveries up to 2018 He had discovered many exoplanets. As they continued to examine the data captured by the Kepler Space Telescope years ago, today researchers realized that the telescope had discovered an exoplanet that looked very similar to Jupiter in an interesting way.

Kepler Space Telescope ‘outdone itself’ to find this planet

Researchers Kepler data in 2016 While he was looking at it, he came across something very interesting. Using a method not normally used in its discoveries that year, the Kepler Space Telescope captured data from a planet nearly identical to Jupiter in almost every way. During Kepler’s tenure More than 2,600 exoplanets discovered and it was known to do this by detecting the brightness drops of stars caused by a planet moving between us. Kepler’s called K2-2016-BLG-0005Lb it turned out that he used a different method in this planet discovery.

The planet was very far away and it was very difficult for the telescope to discover this planet, but Kepler was able to make this discovery using a method called “gravity lens” as a result of a huge object coming between us and the planet . What surprised the researchers was both Kepler’s ability to use the gravitational lensing method and the planet’s resemblance to Jupiter. To discover Jupiter’s missing twin brother, Kepler waited for another planet to come between us, and using this technique, the so-called gravitational lensing method, by using the other planet as a kind of magnifying glass. made his discovery. “Kepler wasn’t designed to use this technique, and it’s quite surprising that he did,” the researchers say.

Jupiter’s Missing Twins at 17,000 Light Years!

On the other hand, if we go back to the planet that Kepler discovered by doing things he wouldn’t normally do; just like the discovery phase itself is quite interesting. Like Jupiter’s distance from the sun, it prefers to stay away from its star. of the planet almost the same as Jupiter in mass The fact that it is even more interesting makes it even more interesting, but due to its distance it has never shown itself until now.

Now from the earth 17,000 light years away Roman and Euclid will take over the work Kepler started for the new planet and much more. Researchers will optimize the Roman and Euclidean space telescopes for such work, completing the number of planets Kepler initiated.