Kepler-Alien Planet Revealed
please see attachment. There is a link on the page to watch this Approx. 1 hour video and answer the question. please read the instructions accordingly.
Video Essay
After watching Nova's Alien Planet Revealed, answer the following questions in paragraph form. Your essays must have 5 paragraphs, one for each of the sections of the video outlined below. Essays are due before midnight on Monday April 28th.
I. The Kepler Space Telescope (2-19 min)
◦ What is Kepler's mission?
◦ When Was it launched and what has it discovered?
◦ How does it work?
◦ What is so special about Earth? Why is there life here?
◦ What is the “Goldilocks zone”?
II. Kepler-22b (19-26 min)
◦ What was the significance of locating this planet?
◦ What method is used to observe planets after they are discovered by Kepler?
◦ Based on the evidence available, what do scientists think the terrain and conditions are like on this planet?
III. Probability of Life on Exoplanets (26-30 min)
◦ What evidence suggests that life does in fact exist elsewhere in the universe?
◦ What types of life most likely exists on other planets?
IV. Red Dwarf Stars & Tidal Locked Planets (30-40 min)
◦ How is a red dwarf star different from our sun?
◦ What is a tidally locked planet?
◦ Would a tidally locked planet in the habitable zone ever be able to support life?
◦ How would plants have to be different on a planet orbiting a red dwarf star?
◦ What kinds of animals might exist on this planet?
V. Intelligent Life (40-52 min)
◦ What are the chances of intelligent life evolving?
Kepler-Alien Planet Revealed
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Kepler-Alien Planet Revealed
The Kepler Space Telescope is one of the most powerful telescopes ever built. It has allowed scientists to discover millions of galaxy bodies such as stars and other planets, never seen before. The mission of Kepler is to discover alien worlds, orbiting distance stars and enable man to answer the question of whether or not “the earth is the only planet that supports life.” The Kepler telescope was launched in 2009. Since its inception, the telescope has managed to discover the similarities that exist among the planets in the universe, in terms of aspects such as their composition and radius. It has facilitated the discovery of over 3500 potential planets of different types and sizes. Kepler is unique among space telescopes. Unlike the Hubble that turns its gaze far, and wide, sending back stunning images of the cosmos, Kepler is designed to focus fixedly on a certain small part in the universe, producing same snapshots for a long time. This brings clearer snapshots that facilitate easy observation of the objects in the universe. Unlike other discovered planets, the earth is special because of its ability to support life. In the earth, there are some special elements hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, which are essential for life, among the living things on earth. The water on earth, which is made of hydrogen and oxygen, is a special component that helps in supporting life. The Goldilocks Zone is a place in the universe with the potential of supporting liquid water formation. This region is not too hot or too cold, and this enables the water to exist in the form of liquid. The earth is rightfully placed within a goldilocks zone, in the universe, and this is the reason there exists liquid water on the surface of the earth. Accordingly, Kepler’s mission is to find planets located in the Goldilocks Zone, because such planets may have high potential of containing water and hence supporting life.
Kepler-22b was discovered on May 12, 2009. The discovery of the planet was a significant one owing to its location in the Goldilocks Zone, which could mean the planet has the potential to support life. The planet, Kepler-22, has the right habitable temperature that may support life. After Kepler discovers planets, the Cape telescope in Hawaii, operated via a video link from California, is used to observe the planets to identify their compositions, whether they are made of gases or rocks...