SPACE This planet’s star is five times less massive than our Sun
OGLE-2005-BLG-390LB STAR WARS WORLD: HOTH
Some like it hot; others like it really, really, cold It might not have the catchiest name you’ve ever heard, but this exoplanet plays homage to one of the most famous Star Wars planets of all, the frozen world of Hoth. Found back in 2005, the planet is one of the most distant we know of, located 21,500 light years from Earth, towards the
centre of the Milky Way. Its orbit around its star is comparable to being situated between Mars and Jupiter in our Solar System and, as such, lends itself to frigid temperatures. Despite having five times Earth’s mass, the planet is thought to have a surface temperature of -220 degrees Celsius.
KEPLER-22B
On the surface of Kepler-22b
STAR WARS WORLD: KAMINO
A shifting orbit could have melted ice on the surface of this world
A distant water world, or a large ball of gas? Remember Kamino? It’s the water world from Attack of the Clones, where Obi-Wan travels to discover the Clone Army, amid crashing waves and a constant and torrential downpour. While we don’t know a huge amount about Kepler-22b yet, it could be similar. This super-Earth, 2.4 times the size of Earth and found in 2011, was originally thought to be an analogue for our planet. Further studies, though, suggested it may be covered in a global ocean, while others say it could be a gas giant. It’s located in its star’s habitable zone, though, so if it is rocky, there’s a good chance it has water. Kepler-22b was one of the first planets to be found in a star’s habitable zone
070 | How It Works
One year
At 289 days, Kepler’s year length is similar to that on Earth.
Ocean
A surface that was once ice may have melted into a global ocean.
Temperature
The surface temperature is now estimated to be 22 degrees Celsius.
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