It's really there! Kepler space telescope's 2nd-ever exoplanet candidate finally confirmed.

[Judi Lynn]

By Mike Wall 7 hours ago

The Neptune-size KOI-5Ab does indeed exist.


A newfound exoplanet is a real blast from the past.

Astronomers just confirmed the existence of KOI-5Ab, which was first flagged as a potential planet by NASA's pioneering Kepler space telescope way back in 2009.

The elusive alien world was the second "candidate" ever identified by Kepler, which hunted for planets on two different missions from 2009 through 2018. Kepler used the "transit method," spotting the telltale brightness dips caused when alien worlds crossed their host stars' faces from the spacecraft's perspective.

This work was incredibly productive. Nearly two-thirds of the roughly 4,300 known exoplanets were discovered by Kepler, and analyses of the telescope's huge dataset continue to turn up new finds.

More:
https://www.space.com/kepler-space-telescope-2nd-exoplanet-candidate-confirmed?utm_source=notification

[soothsayer]

1. Very cool