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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.'"

2 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"2000 Degrees," eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll
    Rankine: Completely obscure.
    Fahrenheit: Only used in a couple third world countries.

    Celsius or Kelvin : Both scientifically usefull, and identical in this situation so pick either.

    Celsius? Fahrenheit? Kelvin? Rankine? What kind of idiots are they hiring at Discovery.com nowadays?

    Smarter idiots than you apparently...

  2. Re:Hell? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Seriously? Blow it out your ass. We don't need shit like that around here.
     
    Oh, and your homepage sucks.