Astronomers recently announced the discovery of a new planet called Kepler 10-c, which orbits the star within 560 light years from Earth. Astronomers say the planet is said to be "Mega Earth". Characteristics of the planet like our Earth, but its mass is much larger, i.e 17 times that of our planet.
 |
| Illustration of planet Kepler 10-c (Godzila of Earths) with his brother, Kepler 10-b and its parent star. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/1x1MQTC) |
The question then, if the planet is similar to Earth, could humans live on the planet? Jack Lissauer of Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States (NASA), said, "The planet is definitely not an Earth's twin brother."
Kepler 10-c is very close to its star that is very hot. One year on the planet just 45 days. On Earth, nearly 1 percent of its mass is volatile materials such as oxygen and water. In Kepler 10-c, the percentage reached 10 percent.
With a large mass, gravity Kepler 10-c also great. Large gravity makes water bound to minerals or compressed into a solid object.
"I would call it a solid planet, not a rocky planet," said Dimitar Sasselov of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, as cited by Time.com on Monday, June 2, 2014.
With all of its characteristics, in addition to far out of reach, Kepler 10-c is not the right place for humans to live. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | TIME]
Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phone.
