Telescopes and associated problems of distance
https://www.jodrellbank.net/visit/whats-here/lovell-telescope/ to process
The Kepler space telescope is a retired space telescope launched by NASA to discover Earth-size planets orbiting other stars.
These terms are not explained.
A heliocentric orbit (also called circumsolar orbit) is an orbit around the centre of the Solar System.
Habitable zone
In astronomy and astrobiology, the ... habitable zone, .. is the range of orbits around a star within which a planetary surface can support liquid water.. .
The bounds of the zone are based on Earth's position in the Solar System and the amount of radiant energy it receives from the Sun.
The habitable zone is also called the Goldilocks zone..
We continue with the quotation.
Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched in ...2009, into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit.
After nine years of operation, ... NASA announced its retirement in October 30, 2018.
Designed to survey a portion of Earth's region of the
Milky Way to discover Earth-size exoplanets in or near
habitable zones and estimate how many of the billions
of stars in the Milky Way have such planets, Kepler ..
monitored the brightness of approx 150,000 main sequence
stars .. .
These data were transmitted to Earth, then analyzed to
detect periodic dimming caused by exoplanets that cross in
front of their host star. ..
During its over nine and a half years of service, Kepler
observed 530,506 stars and detected 2,662 planets.
...
By May 10, 2016, the Kepler mission had verified 1,284
new planets. Based on their size, about 550 could be
rocky planets.
Nine of these orbit in their stars' habitable zone..
B U T
Proxima Centauri b, located about
4.2 light-years ... from Earth ..
is the nearest known exoplanet ..
Questions
How do we transfer to Proxima Centauri b?
Is it realistic to spend a lot of money on such projects?
Would you agree to your grandchildren's grandchildren (x 150 generations) going there?
Let's hope they find out what it looks like before departing!
Artist's conception - Proxima Centauri b
as a rocky-like exoplanet, with Proxima
Centauri and the Alpha Centauri binary
system in the background. The actual
appearance of the planet is unknown.
The star on the right (B) circles the other.
The closest stars to Earth are .. in
the Alpha Centauri system. The two
main stars are Alpha Centauri A and
Alpha Centauri B, which form a binary
pair. They are an average of 4.3 light-
years from Earth.