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Kepler-78b: The Earth-Like Planet That Shouldn't Exist

astroengine writes "Kepler-78b may be an exoplanet notable for being approximately Earth-sized and likely possessing a rocky surface plus iron core, but that's where any similarity to our planet ends. It has an extremely tight orbit around sun-like star Kepler-78, completing one 'year' in only 8.5 hours. It orbits so close in fact that the alien world's surface temperature soars to 2,000 degrees hotter than Earth's. Referring to Kepler-78b as a 'rocky' world is therefore a misnomer — it's a hellish lava world. But this is just a side-show to the real conundrum behind Kepler-78b: It shouldn't exist at all. 'This planet is a complete mystery,' said astronomer David Latham of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in a press release. 'We don't know how it formed or how it got to where it is today. What we do know is that it's not going to last forever.'"

3 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Re: Well it is far, far away by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Deorbited, the emperor sentenced the rebel world to this fate.

  2. In related news... by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1, Funny

    the American public agrees that Wall Street should be moved to Kepler-78b.

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    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  3. See! See! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 4, Funny

    Scientists don't know something! This only proves that Global warming isn't real, that evolution is a farce, and the world was created in 4004 b.c.

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    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.