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Has NASA found a new ‘Earth-like’ planet? We’ll know tomorrow

Is the space agency going to tell the world they have discovered a planet similar to the Earth orbiting around another star in our universe? Whatever the news turns out to be, right now, it has the Internet on fire with speculation about what has been found.

CTV said calling a news teleconference for the Kepler Telescope, a mission dedicated to finding Earth-like planets in “habitable” zones, is an unusual occurrence. The primary mission of Kepler is to find Earth-like planets with suitable conditions to support liquid water, the all important ingredient necessary to sustain life.

Finding the “Goldilocks Zone”
“This porridge is too hot,” Goldilocks exclaimed.
So she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.
“This porridge is too cold.”
So she tasted the last bowl of porridge.
“Ahhh, this porridge is just right!” she said happily.
And she ate it all up.
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears” children’s story

Kepler’s mission set out to find planets that are a perfect distance away from a star, in a habitable zone that is surprisingly very small. The planet would have to be just far enough away from the star to sustain water. This “just right” zone was named “The Goldilocks Zone.”

In our search for a suitable planet, much like Earth, we looked to our own Solar System first. Mercury and Venus were too hot, and the outer planets were too cold. Only Earth was in the right orbital place, and it was just right. We have water, air in our atmosphere, and just the right amount of sunshine. Hence, the “Goldilocks Zone.”

Finding an Earth-like planet orbiting around another star is what NASA scientists have been dreaming about for a long time, and based on the announcement released by the agency, maybe, just maybe they have found that planet. In the space agency’s press release, dated July 20, 2015, they had this to say: “The first exoplanet orbiting another star like our sun was discovered in 1995. Exoplanets, especially small Earth-size worlds, belonged within the realm of science fiction just 21 years ago. Today, and thousands of discoveries later, astronomers are on the cusp of finding something people have dreamed about for thousands of years — another Earth.”

The world will know what has been found tomorrow, and sounds like some exciting news.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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