Scientists Competing to Find Exoplanets: The Global Race to Discover New Worlds
Lesson Express
Q: How did the Kepler telescope detect exoplanets?
A: The Kepler telescope detected exoplanets by observing the “wink” of light caused when a planet passed in front of its star, momentarily dimming the star’s light.
Q: Why was the Kepler telescope able to discover planets that Earth-based telescopes could not?
A: The Kepler telescope was placed outside of Earth’s atmosphere, where it could avoid interference from atmospheric distortion, allowing it to observe stars and planets more clearly than telescopes on Earth.
Q: How do the scientists involved in the search for exoplanets balance competition and cooperation?
A: While scientists compete to be the first to make groundbreaking discoveries, they cooperate by sharing data and findings with one another, understanding that collaboration speeds up the process of finding potentially habitable planets.