The graphic shows the relative size and temperature of the newly found exoplanets. Click for a larger version. Image is from Science@NASA site linked below.

The Kepler mission has returned its first results:  it found FIVE planets around different stars.  No surprise these are very large large planets as we can see in the Kepler graphic.  The planets are named and rightly so: Kepler 4b,5b, 6b, 7b, 8b.

It is only reasonable to find larger objects first, but wow, the planets are found by watching the light from the starlight dim ever so slightly as the planet transits the face of the star!  Think of it, the light doesn’t dim very much yet it can be detected.

The orbit can be determined quite simply by watching the dimming patter over time, the size of the planets can be determined by the amount of the dip, and the temperature of the planet can be determined by knowing the orbital distance and how hot the star is (which is fairly easy because it is based on the type of star) – simple and brilliant.

Kepler is watching an astounding 150,000 stars at once.  Imagine the data they have to sift through!  Ultimately the goal is to find roughly sized planets in the habitable zone of the parent star.

From the NASA press release:

“These observations contribute to our understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve from the gas and dust disks that give rise to both the stars and their planets,” said William Borucki of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Borucki is the mission’s science principal investigator. “The discoveries also show that our science instrument is working well. Indications are that Kepler will meet all its science goals.”

The Kepler mission team must be extremely happy, congrats to them!  Still think we’re alone?

Science@NASA has a good article on the new findings, check it out.