Introduction
Discovery
Characteristics
Artistic Interpretations
Sources

Kepler Mission

A part of the motivation for the Kepler Mission is to seek out other planets in which there may be life. Answering whether we are alone in the universe holds not only scientific, but also theological ramifications. The Kepler mission was the 10th Discovery mission carried out by NASA. More generally, this mission aims to determine the distribution of such planets across our galaxy as well as how these planets may be categorized based on their inherent properties as well as the properties of the solar systems that harbor them.

The Transit Method

The major problem with trying to observe properties of planets far away is that they are hard to see. When a planet crosses in front of its star then it is much more visible to us because there is a change in the luminescence of the star. This act of crossing in front of the star is called a transit. Transits can be observed within our own solar system by the naked eye when Venus and Mercury cross in front of the Sun.

image from http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/images/kepler-transit-graph.html

 

Confirmation of Kepler-22b

In the case of Kepler 22b, the Kepler project required at least three transits in order to verify a signal as a planet. The third transit was witnessed near the end of the 2010. After the planet became a candidate the Spitzer Space Telescope reviewed the observations. Kepler 22b holds a special place for the Kepler science team because near the end of 2011, it was the first of their planet candidates to be confirmed.