NASA News: NASA'S Kepler Discovery Confirms First Planet Orbiting Two Stars

WASHINGTON -- The existence of a world with a double sunset, as
portrayed in the film Star Wars more than 30 years ago, is now
scientific fact. NASA's Kepler mission has made the first unambiguous
detection of a circumbinary planet -- a planet orbiting two stars --
200 light-years from Earth.

Unlike Star Wars' Tatooine, the planet is cold, gaseous and not
thought to harbor life, but its discovery demonstrates the diversity
of planets in our galaxy. Previous research has hinted at the
existence of circumbinary planets, but clear confirmation proved
elusive. Kepler detected such a planet, known as Kepler-16b, by
observing transits, where the brightness of a parent star dims from
the planet crossing in front of it.

"This discovery confirms a new class of planetary systems that could
harbor life," Kepler principal investigator William Borucki said.
"Given that most stars in our galaxy are part of a binary system,
this means the opportunities for life are much broader than if
planets form only around single stars. This milestone discovery
confirms a theory that scientists have had for decades but could not
prove until now."

A research team led by Laurance Doyle of the SETI Institute in
Mountain View, Calif., used data from the Kepler space telescope,
which measures dips in the brightness of more than 150,000 stars, to
search for transiting planets. Kepler is the first NASA mission
capable of finding Earth-size planets in or near the "habitable
zone," the region in a planetary system where liquid water can exist
on the surface of the orbiting planet.

Scientists detected the new planet in the Kepler-16 system, a pair of
orbiting stars that eclipse each other from our vantage point on
Earth. When the smaller star partially blocks the larger star, a
primary eclipse occurs, and a secondary eclipse occurs when the
smaller star is occulted, or completely blocked, by the larger star.

Astronomers further observed that the brightness of the system dipped
even when the stars were not eclipsing one another, hinting at a
third body. The additional dimming in brightness events, called the
tertiary and quaternary eclipses, reappeared at irregular intervals
of time, indicating the stars were in different positions in their
orbit each time the third body passed. This showed the third body was
circling, not just one, but both stars, in a wide circumbinary orbit.

The gravitational tug on the stars, measured by changes in their
eclipse times, was a good indicator of the mass of the third body.
Only a very slight gravitational pull was detected, one that only
could be caused by a small mass. The findings are described in a new
study published Friday, Sept. 16, in the journal Science.

"Most of what we know about the sizes of stars comes from such
eclipsing binary systems, and most of what we know about the size of
planets comes from transits," said Doyle, who also is the lead author
and a Kepler participating scientist. "Kepler-16 combines the best of
both worlds, with stellar eclipses and planetary transits in one system."

This discovery confirms that Kepler-16b is an inhospitable, cold world
about the size of Saturn and thought to be made up of about half rock
and half gas. The parent stars are smaller than our sun. One is 69
percent the mass of the sun and the other only 20 percent. Kepler-16b
orbits around both stars every 229 days, similar to Venus' 225-day
orbit, but lies outside the system's habitable zone, where liquid
water could exist on the surface, because the stars are cooler than our sun.

"Working in film, we often are tasked with creating something never
before seen," said visual effects supervisor John Knoll of Industrial
Light & Magic, a division of Lucasfilm Ltd., in San Francisco.
"However, more often than not, scientific discoveries prove to be
more spectacular than anything we dare imagine. There is no doubt
these discoveries influence and inspire storytellers. Their very
existence serves as cause to dream bigger and open our minds to new
possibilities beyond what we think we 'know.'"

For more information about the Kepler mission and to view the digital
press kit, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/kepler

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NASA Awards Microwave Sounder Contract For JPSS Spacecraft

WASHINGTON -- NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), has awarded a sole source letter contract to
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. of Azusa, Calif., for the Advanced
Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument planned for flight on
the first Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1).

The estimated value of this letter contract is $30 million with a
period of performance from 2011 through 2017. Northrop Grumman will
manufacture, test and deliver ATMS, support instrument integration on
JPSS-1, and provide launch and post-launch support.

The ATMS instrument is the next-generation cross-track microwave
sounder that will combine the capabilities of current generation
microwave temperature sounders that are flying on NOAA's
Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites. The JPSS-1
satellite will host the ATMS and other instruments necessary to
provide civil weather forecasting and climate data under the JPSS program.

JPSS is the restructured civilian portion of the National
Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS).
This system includes the satellites and sensors supporting civil
weather and climate measurements and a shared ground infrastructure
with the Department of Defense weather satellite system.

NASA is the procurement agent for these assets, and the agency's
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is the lead for
acquisition for the program. JPSS is managed on behalf of NOAA by the
Joint Agency Satellite Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate
in Washington.

For more information about JPSS, visit:

http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/jpss

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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Wallops Media Roundtable With NASA'S Space Technology Director

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- Journalists are invited to a roundtable
discussion at 11:30 a.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 16, with NASA's Space
Technology Program Director Michael Gazarik during his visit to the
agency's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Va.

Robert Strain, director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in
Greenbelt, Md., and Wallops Director Bill Wrobel, will join Gazarik
for the event. They will discuss Wallops' important role in the Space
Technology Program and in the development of new cutting-edge
technologies and innovations that will enable NASA's future missions
in science, exploration and space operations.

Next year, Wallops will conduct critical high-altitude balloon and
sounding rocket flights for two major Space Technology projects. They
will test inflatable aerodynamic decelerators for safely returning
cargo to Earth from the International Space Station and for landing
large-scale payloads on planetary surfaces.

To attend the media roundtable or to participate via teleconference,
journalists must contact Keith Koehler at 757-824-1579 or
keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov by 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15. Audio of
the event will be streamed live at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

For information about high altitude balloon and sounding rocket
programs at Wallops, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/wallops

For Gazarik's biography and information about the Office of the Chief
Technologist, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/oct

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