NASA Discovers First Rocky Planet outside Our System
By: Newsroom Solutions
Updated: January 11, 2011
NASA scientists reported Monday they've discovered the first rocky planet outside our solar system.
The planet Keplar-10b orbits a star more than 500 light-years away.
It's about one-and-a-half times as wide as Earth and nearly five times as heavy with daytime temperatures exceeding 25-hundred degrees Fahrenheit.
Astronomers believe planets with rocky cores like Earth are more likely to support life forms.
Scientists have previously discovered planets that may have rocky cores, but Keplar-10b is the first confirmed discovery of such a planet.
The planet Keplar-10b orbits a star more than 500 light-years away.
It's about one-and-a-half times as wide as Earth and nearly five times as heavy with daytime temperatures exceeding 25-hundred degrees Fahrenheit.
Astronomers believe planets with rocky cores like Earth are more likely to support life forms.
Scientists have previously discovered planets that may have rocky cores, but Keplar-10b is the first confirmed discovery of such a planet.
