Has Nefertiti's tomb finally been found?

Nefertiti 'was buried inside King Tut's tomb'

Nefertiti has continued to capture our collective imagination throughout the ages. No trace has been found of the legendary "beautiful one" who ruled across Egypt at her husband's side... until, possibly, now.

Nicholas Reeves, a British archaeologist at the University of Arizona believes he has found her resting place hidden in plain sight -- in the tomb of Tutankhamun.

The bold new theory comes after extensive analysis of high resolution images published online last year by Factum Arte, a Madrid-based art restoration specialist who helped create a facsimile of King Tut's burial chamber in Luxor. In the scans, Reeves spotted cracks in the walls that could indicate two previously unrecognized "ghost" doorways lay behind the walls.

"The implications are extraordinary, for, if digital appearance translates into physical reality, it seems we are now faced not merely with the prospect of a new, Tutankhamun-era storeroom to the west; to the north (there) appears to be signaled a continuation of tomb KV 62 (Tutankhamun's tomb), and within these uncharted depths an earlier royal interment -- that of Nefertiti herself."

Was Nefertiti the tomb's original occupant?

Despite relentless looters, the boy king's tomb remains one of Egypt's most prolific discoveries. Uncovered by Howard Carter in 1922, it remains the most intact tomb ever unearthed. And has been a treasure trove for archaeologists, where close to 2,000 objects were recovered.
In his paper on the possible find, Reeves theorizes that the size of Tutankhamun's tomb is "less than appropriate" for the final resting place of an Egyptian king. Instead he seems to solve the conundrum that has baffled archaeologists for years by explaining that it's inadequate size and layout is because it's an extension of an earlier tomb originally designed for a queen.

The academic also surmises that recycled equipment found in the burial chamber predates Tutankhamun's accession. He concludes the tomb was most likely intended for an Egyptian queen of the late Eighteenth Dynasty -- of which Reeves points out Nefertiti is the only woman to achieve such honors -- and repurposed upon Tutankhamun's untimely death at 17 years old.

"At the time of Nefertiti's burial... there had surely been no intention that Tutankhamun would in due course occupy this same tomb. That thought would not occur until the king's early and unexpected death a decade later," writes Reeves.

While the tomb of the ancient queen has long been thought to be lost, Reeves' theory has got Egyptologists buzzing.

"It's certainly tantalizing what Nicholas Reeves has suggested," says Toby Wilkinson, an Egyptologist at Cambridge University.

"If we look at what we know: we're pretty certain there is an undiscovered royal tomb of roughly the same period somewhere, because we have more kings than we have tombs, so logic suggests that there's still a tomb to be found."

In search of a lost queen

This isn't the first time a new lead has emerged in the hunt for Nefertiti. In 2003, Joann Fletcher from the University of York made waves when she announced that her team had identified an anonymous mummy known as the "Younger Lady" uncovered in a secret chamber inside a tomb in the Valley of the Kings as belonging to the ancient queen.

She cited evidence of the presence of a Nubian wig favored during the Amarna Period (when Nefertiti is thought to have lived), alongside embalming analysis and examination of debris.

The theory -- which aired in a documentary on the Discovery Channel -- was soon disputed by Zahi Hawass, then secretary-general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, who concluded the mummy was actually that of a 15-year-old male.

An archaeologist says he may have found evidence that Nefertiti, the former Queen of Egypt, is secretly buried inside Tutankhamun's tomb.

The whereabouts of Nefertiti's remains are not known, although those of Tutankhamun - who may have been her son - were found in 1922.

New tests have shown there may be a portal leading from King Tut's tomb.

Nicholas Reeves, an archaeologist at the University of Arizona, says he believes Neferiti may lie inside.

One leading Egyptologist urged caution over the conclusion but said that, if confirmed, it would be "brilliant".

The finds were made last year, after the Spanish artistic and preservation specialists, Factum Arte, were commissioned to produce detailed scans of Tutankhamun's tomb.
The scans were then used to produce a facsimile of the tomb near the site of the original Valley of the Kings in Luxor.
While assessing the scans last February, Dr Reeves spotted what he believed were marks indicating where two doorways used to be.
"I have been testing the evidence ever since, looking for indications that what I thought I was seeing was, in fact, not there," Dr Reeves told the BBC.
"But the more I looked, the more information I found that I seemed to be looking at something pretty real."
The layout of Tutankhamun's tomb has been a puzzle for some time - in particular, why it was smaller than those of other kings' tombs.
Dr Reeves believes there are clues in the design of the tomb that indicate it was designed to store the remains of a queen, not a king.
"If I'm wrong, I'm wrong," he said. "But if I'm right, the prospects are frankly staggering. The world will have become a much more interesting place - at least for Egyptologists."
After being discovered by English archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, the tomb of Tutankhamun was opened in February the following year.
It was the most intact Egyptian tomb ever discovered, and very few objects appeared to have been plundered.
Close to 2,000 objects were found, and it took archaeologists nine years to catalogue them all.
If the same amount of objects were found elsewhere in the tomb, it would represent "quite a coup," said Dr Reeves.
Neither Egyptian authorities nor Factum Arte have responded to the claims.
"I think there are certainly some signs that there might have been some activity around those doorways," said Joyce Tyldesley, an Egyptologist with the University of Manchester.
"Whether we can deduct from that that we actually the burial site of Nefertiti might be a step too far.
"But if it was true, it would be absolutely brilliant."

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Golf Champion Rickie Fowler's perfect life.

PGA Championship 2015: Rickie Fowler's almost perfect life?

Rickie Fowler appears to have it all.

He's got the $150,000 car, a loving girlfriend, doting fans and earnings already this year of $3.6 million. He's also the kind of guy that remembers to buy the media a barrel of beer after hitting a hole-in-one at the Quicken Loans National.

Yet there's one thing missing from the American golfer's life -- he hasn't won a major.


That's despite finishing inside the top five of all four majors in 2014 -- a feat previously accomplished only by the legendary Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.


"It slid a little under the radar, but that was fine with me," Fowler told CNN's Don Riddell, reflecting on a year of going oh-so close in 2014. "Looking back on it, it's something that I'll be able to look back on for the rest of my life.

"No-one else has really done it, either than Tiger and Jack, so it's very historic," added Fowler, speaking ahead of the PGA Championship -- the season's final major -- at Whistling Straits.

"But Rory McIlroy did win two majors around those times, so him becoming the world No.1, and holding his position there was talked about more.

"I'm trying to take care of my business, getting into the thick of things and winning more often."

Speaking of winning, Fowler and his model girlfriend Alexis Randock sent the media into a frenzy after they shared a passionate kiss following the world No.7's victory at The Players Championship in May.

However, the 26-year-old admitted he wasn't surprised at the reaction his display of affection received.

"No, not really. Everything that happens with winning, and obviously The Players being the best field in golf that we play, it was a pretty memorable win."

Fowler's Players Championship success tasted all the sweeter given just before the tournament he'd topped a poll of "the most over-rated golfer."


"I just laughed at it [the poll]," quipped Fowler. "I'm a top ranked player in the world. I've had some great finishes, and coming off a year where I was in the top five of all the majors.

"I kind of thought it was funny and it was just great timing that it came out right before The Players. I think we silenced a lot of people with the win at The Players, so that was kind of fun."

Having come so close on four occasions last year, the dream for Fowler remains winning that elusive first major.

"Well it would be a dream come true," he said. "It's always been a dream of mine to be a major champion.

"To have the chance of walking up 18 -- whether it's at The Masters, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship or the PGA Championship -- to have a chance or to have enough of a lead where you can celebrate it a little bit would be really special.

"So I'm looking forward to getting off to a good start this week and giving myself a chance."

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'Bullet-proof' Bra

'Bullet-proof' bra saves woman's life in hunting incident in Germany

A bra may have saved a woman's life in a hunting accident in northeastern Germany. The 41-year-old tourist from North Rhine-Westphalia survived being accidentally shot thanks to her bra, which miraculously stopped the bullet, local media reported.

The woman was on a bike ride with her husband when the incident happened in Mecklenberg-Western Pomerania, German daily Gadebusch-Rehnaer Zeitung reported.

The couple were crossing a field between the towns of Gadebusch and Köchelstor when they unknowingly found themselves in the area of a boar hunt. 

The woman felt a sudden pain in her chest and it turned out she had been hit by a ricochet. A hematoma measuring about 1.5 by 1.5 centimeters formed. Luckily, the underwire of her bra had deflected the shot, otherwise the woman would have most probably sustained more serious injuries. The German tourist came away with just a bruise and was taken to a doctor to Gadebusch.

READ MORE: ‘Boobs, not bombs': Hundreds take part in Ontario topless protest

The woman's husband reportedly spotted the alleged shooter in a neighboring farm and approached him to explain what had happened.

"Those in charge of the hunt then immediately broke it up," police spokesperson André Falke told the newspaper. Investigators have already identified the man.

Gadebusch Criminal Commision is investigating the incident on allegations of injury caused by negligence. 

In 2008, a bullet fired by a companion during a boar hunt hit a 50-year-old hunter in Mecklenburg, northern Germany. The man died, Gadebusch-Rehnaer Zeitung reported.

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The Next American Presidential Election

Trump trumps them all in Republican debates

Republican 2016 U.S. presidential candidate businessman Donald Trump answers a question at the first official Republican presidential candidates debate of the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign in Cleveland, Ohio, August 6, 2015. 

Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz has said that the US, on the financial front, is “on the wrong side of history.” As for the Republican candidates chasing the nomination for the 2016 US presidential race, well, they may qualify only for the ‘wrong’ side of the bargain, as they hardly know what ‘history’ means.

And that brings us to a mammoth specimen of entertainment/reality TV; the first Republican debate, no less than a seemingly-eternal 15 months before the actual US presidential election.

It definitely started with a – what else? - celebrity TV bang. Would anybody raise their hands if they were mulling running as a third-party candidate, and ignore the eventual Republican nominee?

Up goes the lone raised hand of billionaire real estate speculator-cum-reality TV celebrity Donald Trump. And true to form, The Donald pulled a – what else? – Trump; he would keep hedging his bets, while swearing on live television to support the Republican nominee and not be a third-party candidate if he was, well, the Republican nominee.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul’s response to that was exemplary; Trump was “hedging his bets”. After all, he “buys and sells politicians.” And Paul doubled down, hinting that Trump was an actual Trojan Horse who will, in the end, support The Hillarator ‘we came, we saw, he died’ Clinton.

The Hillarator, by the way, took no prisoners, announcing to the whole social media universe that she was not watching the debate; she was hangin’ out in LA with – who else? – a bunch of reality TV ‘royalty’. But she did commit the mortal sin of attending one of Trump’s weddings, as The Donald himself admitted.

We only care about our $2bn

The reality TV spectacular even had a warm-up, like those preliminary bouts on UFC. Cynics might have preferred iron chick Ronda Rousey immobilizing all the Republican contestants in the octagon in less than 30 seconds, but still the arguable winner of the warm-up was Carly Fiorina, former (booted out) CEO of Hewlett-Packard. Cynics, once again, might have preferred the other Carly (Simon) singing ‘You’re so Vain’, but that’s just nostalgia.

On foreign policy, the warm-up highlight was an actual pre-warm-up, as South Carolina’s wacko job Lindsay Graham told Japanese media on the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, “If I were President Truman, I would have dropped the bomb.”

Predictably, the main ‘debate’ was an anti-abortion and illegal immigration ‘drop the bomb’ fan fest.

Trump, predictably, trumped them all. His master plan to solve illegal immigration: The Great Trump Wall of Mexico, including “a big beautiful door in that wall so people can get into this wall legally.”

Marco Rubio’s response; “El Chapo built a tunnel under the fence and we need a solution to deal with that too.” Trump didn’t elaborate on how he would deal with the notorious Mexican drug lord’s underground tactics.

As this was a reality TV spectacular generating huge ratings – and not a real ‘debate’ - it was micromanaged to the millimeter by Fox News. Some of the questions unveiled Fox’s real agenda; dress down Trump a notch and give a chance to the other Muppets to say something, anything, mildly respectable.

Fox News’s demographics hover around 68 as the median age; angry, aging, white, exceptionalist American males. Fox – essentially a Republican PR asset - made $794 million in profits in 2014. The network is worth at least $2 billion a year to parent company 21st Century Fox, part of the Murdoch empire.

Trump made mincemeat of any idea of a level playing field. He was on a roll, including a full 30 seconds to expand on his claim that the Mexican government is sending rapists and murderers to undermine the American dream.

“Our leaders are stupid. Our politicians are stupid. And the Mexican government is much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning, and they send the bad ones over because they don’t wanna pay for them, they don’t wanna take care of them, why should they when the stupid leaders of the United States are doing it for them?” he asked.

So political America – as in the Beltway – is stupid. That much was already known by the whole Global South. Now coming from a billionaire who knows all there is to know about making it big, that certainly adds gravitas.

Gravitas, of course, in a trash TV sense. Even right-wing pundits are now waking up to the fact that The Donald’s act is actually a re-run of comedian Norm MacDonald’s impersonation of Burt Reynolds from the Celebrity Jeopardy sketch.

Which makes total sense, as far as American pop culture is concerned. If even George ‘Dubya’ Bush can become an American president, why not an impersonator from a fake celebrity TV personality?

‘We don't win anymore!’

Foreign policy at the reality TV spectacular was a blast. Rand Paul said, “[Islamic State, IS formerly] ISIS rides around in a billion dollars’ worth of Humvees. We didn’t create ISIS, ISIS created themselves, but we will stop them.” No wonder the arguably science-based Obama administration is puzzled on how to deal with a creationist IS.

Jeb! The billionaire candidate too cowardly/savvy to use the toxic family name was forced to talk about the Iraq war: “Knowing what we know now … it was a mistake. I wouldn’t have gone in.”

Yet “the US has to finish the job in Iraq”, Obama “abandoned Iraq, and when he left Al-Qaeda was done for and ISIS was created.” The creationist myth once again - with a twist.

And, predictably, considering the profile of some of his billionaire backers, Jeb! has an Iran hard-on; “We need to stop the Iran agreement for sure because the Iranian mullahs have blood on their hands and we need to take out ISIS with every tool at our disposal.”

Yet Jeb! paled compared to Ted Cruz, who got terribly excited describing an elaborate Tehran-Kremlin conspiracy to unleash a vicious cyber-attack against the Pentagon’s IT network.

Scott Walker jumped in, stressing that, “Russian and Chinese hackers probably know more about Hillary Clinton’s email server than do members of Congress.”

Walker actually should try to get the job of Dr. Strangelove, sorry, Gen. Breedlove/hate at NATO; “I would send weapons to Ukraine, I would work with NATO to get forces on the eastern border of Poland.” And he wants missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic to boot.

So before the next war, what do to about the economy? Jeb! has the answer: “You fix a convoluted tax code, you go in and replace every regulation that’s a job killer.”

The Donald – who had four of his companies bankrupt – turned the whole argument around; “Every company virtually in Atlantic City just went bankrupt… I had the good sense [to leave] seven years ago…

“I’ve made a lot of money in Atlantic City and let me tell you I am very proud of that.”

Now that’s your metaphor of America as two-bit casino racket Atlantic City.

In the end, all reality TV contestants played to the concerns of their ‘base’. American exceptionalism faces three horrible, compound threats even Pentagon think tanks could not come up with; China, IS and a horde of illegal Latino immigrants.

But Ted Cruz will be able to prevent Armageddon. He will “rescind every illegal action taken by Barack Obama.” He will defend “religious liberty.” He will destroy the Iran nuclear deal. And he will transfer the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

Whatever. Because the winner of the show on Google search data was – who else? –Trump. The Donald laid down the law: “Our country is in serious trouble. We don’t win anymore. We don’t beat China or Mexico or Japan, those countries make so many cars. We don’t do anything right. Our military has to be strengthened.”

So come January 2017, there’s got to be a war. Ukraine? Iran? “Syraq”? Russia? China? Why not all of them at once? “We don’t win anymore!”

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Syrian Conflict

'Almost quarter of a million people' dead in Syria war

News of mounting death toll comes as UN Security Council backs resolution to probe chlorine gas attacks in the country.

The fate of 30,000 people who have gone missing in Syria [Reuters]

Almost a quarter of a million people, including nearly 12,000 children, have been killed in Syria's conflict since it broke out in March 2011, a UK-based activist group has said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Friday that it had documented the deaths of 240,381 people, up from its tally of 230,618 announced on June 9.

The latest death toll shows that 11,964 children were among 71,781 civilians killed in Syria.

At least 88,616 regime forces were killed - or one thirds all deaths documented by the SOHR - including 50,570 soldiers, with the rest made up by allied fighters.

Related Story: UN hears accounts of Syria chemical weapons attacks

The monitor, which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground, put the death toll for rebel fighters at 42,384 and said 34,375 foreign fighters had also been killed in Syria.

The identity of another 3,225 people killed in the conflict remains unknown, according to the observatory.

The fate of 30,000 people who have gone missing in Syria, including 20,000 said to be held in Syrian jails, was not documented in the toll.

It also did not take into account the fate of thousands of loyalist forces held by rebel factions or by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant group.

The Syrian conflict began with anti-government protests before spiralling into a multi-front war after a brutal regime crackdown.

Diplomatic pressure

The news comes as the UN Security Council voted unanimously on Friday to set up a panel to identify who is behind deadly chlorine gas attacks in Syria, which the West blames on President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The human toll of the war in Syria

Russia, Syria's veto-wielding ally, endorsed the measure during a vote at the 15-member council that marked a rare display of unity over how to address the conflict.

Under discussion for months, the US-drafted resolution sets up a team of experts tasked with identifying the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attacks and paves the way for possible sanctions to punish them.

Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said the resolution now heads to UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon.

Our correspondent said the unanimous vote was "important and very significant" given the political divisions at the UN on the Syria issue. 

Ban has 20 days to form the panel and make recommendations about how the investigation will be conducted. The panel would then make its first report within 90 days.

Meanwhile, there are signs that Syria's government is looking for a diplomatic way to end the war.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem has paid a rare visit to the Gulf, the first in four years.

Syria's state news agency said the pair talked about "constructive efforts" to end the war.

Oman has been a mediator in the conflict and has a history of relations with Syria's close ally Iran.

 

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Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - World War II

Nagasaki bombing 70th anniversary marked by calls to abolish nukes

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offers a flower wreath for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing, during a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the bombing of the city at Nagasaki's Peace Park in western Japan, August 9, 2015

Memorial services for the victims of the US '1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki that claimed over 74,000 lives have taken place in Japan, with calls to abolish nuclear weapons and prevent Tokyo from loosening restrictions on what its military can do.

Bells tolled as survivors, the relatives of victims, as well as representatives from 75 countries, including US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, gathered at Nagasaki Peace Park to mourn the victims of the horrific blast.  

“As the only nation in the world to have suffered a war-time nuclear attack, I have renewed my resolve to play a leading role in pursuing a world without nuclear weapons and maintain the three non-nuclear principle,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated, referring to Tokyo's policy of not possessing or producing nuclear arms and prohibiting their entry into the country.

In a similar ceremony, held for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima on Thursday, Abe did not make reference to the traditional non-nuclear principles for some reason, facing a wave of criticism from ageing survivors and opposition lawmakers.

The attack on Nagasaki, with the bomb dubbed "Fat Man", came just three days after American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, dropped another bomb, dubbed "Little Boy", on Hiroshima – the first atomic bombing in history. As many as 140,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the Hiroshima attack, including those who survived the blast itself but later died from radiation sickness.  At Nagasaki Peace Park, the prime minister's calls for abolition of nuclear weapons received mixed reactions.

A representative of Nagasaki bomb survivors told an annual ceremony that security legislation introduced by Abe's government is out of tune with the wishes of the survivors, and "will lead to war."

"We cannot accept this," said 86-year-old Sumiteru Taniguchi.

In May, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet approved legislation authorizing Japan to expand its military capacity beyond self-defense, enabling it to play a greater international role. If passed into law, the bills would overturn a pacifist constitution signed by Japan after its defeat in World War II, which banned the use of force as a means of settling international disputes. 

The controversial legislation (currently under consideration by parliament) would ease constitutional limits that restrict the military to self-defense, allowing Japanese forces to defend allies in certain circumstances. Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani caused a furore on Wednesday when he said that the proposed bills would not rule out the military transporting foreign forces’ nuclear weapons.

The bills have already passed the lower house and are likely to win further support, given that Abe's ruling bloc also has a majority in the upper house. The Japanese public has slammed the proposed bills, calling them “war legislation” aimed at turning Japan toward militarism. 

Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue, who also attended the official morning ceremony on Sunday, highlighted a "widespread unease" about the legislation.

"I urge the government of Japan to listen to these voices of unease and concern," Taue said. “Anxiety and concern are spreading,” he noted, according to The Asahi Shumbun.

A message from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also reflected calls by Nagasaki Mayor to abolish nuclear weapons.

"I wholeheartedly join you in sounding a global rallying cry: No more Nagasakis. No more Hiroshimas," Ban said in a message read by the acting UN high representative for disarmament affairs, Kim Won-soo.

Last month, reports emerged that Japan had allegedly shown interest in joining a NATO missile-building consortium, so Tokyo can take part in a multinational defense project. The US supports a plan that could enable Japan to lead similar alliances in Asia, according to a report. In May, Japanese naval officers traveled to a NATO meeting in The Hague to get more information about the 12-country consortium, which oversees development and shares the costs of the US-made SeaSparrow missile, Japan's Navy and a US source familiar with the trip told Reuters. The advanced ship-borne short-range weapon is designed to destroy anti-ship sea-skimming missiles and attack aircraft.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) are also considering the introduction of an overseas intelligence network, possibly modeled on Britain's MI6 spy agency, the first of its kind since World War II, Reuters reported in March. 

When the Allied forces defeated Japan 70 years ago, they also demolished its intelligence apparatus, which had allowed Tokyo to become a self-reliant Asian powerhouse at the time. This left Tokyo largely dependent on the intelligence work of other nations, notably the United States. The current stance in Japanese political circles is that the nation must reassert itself in the international spying arena.

Earlier this year, Tokyo approved its largest military budget in 70 years, raising it to nearly 5 trillion yen (US$42 billion). Last year, Japan lifted a self-imposed four-decade ban on selling weapons. The new export guidelines will “help maintain global peace and security,” the government said, according to the Japan Times. 

Japanese media reported that Abe will not visit Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni shrine for the war dead on August 15, which marks the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender to the Allies in World War II.

Abe’s private visit to the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo in December 2013 provoked outrage from China and South Korea, the countries Japan occupied until its defeat in 1945. Among the 2.4 million war dead honored at the shrine are internationally recognized war criminals, who committed atrocities on the occupied territories.  

But even if Abe chooses not to attend Yasukuni this time around, he may come under fire again, should he omit an apology in a statement expected to be released later this week. Abe said his statement will express "remorse" for Japan's wartime actions, but according to local media, the key word  – "apology" – is unlikely to be included.

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NASA finds 'Earth's bigger, older cousin'

NASA finds 'Earth's bigger, older cousin'

NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope recently discovered an Earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star within the habitable zone of our galaxy. Kepler-186f is approximately 500 light-years from Earth in the Cygnus constellation.

The habitable zone, also known as the Goldilocks zone, is the region around a star within which planetary-mass objects with sufficient atmospheric pressure can support liquid water at their surfaces. While it has been estimated that there are at least 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in our Milky Way Galaxy, this particular discovery is labeled the first Earth-sized planet to be found in the habitable zone of another star.


Scientists Discover Another Earth

What does this mean?

In addition to Kepler-186f, there are 4 other planets that orbit a nearby star within the Kepler-186f system. What this means is that if the nearby star to this planet is similar to our Sun, then the probability of life on this planet exponentially rises.

“We know of just one planet where life exists – Earth. When we search for life outside our solar system we focus on finding planets with characteristics that mimic that of Earth,” said Elisa Quintana, research scientist at the SETI Institute at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and lead author of the paper published today in the journal Science. “Finding a habitable zone planet comparable to Earth in size is a major step forward.”

The nearby star to Kepler-186f has half the mass and size as our solar system’s Sun and only receives one-third of the energy that we receive from our Sun. Kepler-186f orbits its star once every 130 days.



NASA said Thursday that its Kepler spacecraft has spotted "Earth's bigger, older cousin": the first nearly Earth-size planet to be found in the habitable zone of a star similar to our own.


Though NASA can't say for sure whether the planet is rocky like ours or has water and air, it's the closest match yet found.

On Thursday, July 23, NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-452b, "Earth's bigger, older cousin." This artistic concept shows what the planet might look like. Scientists can't tell yet whether Kepler-452b has oceans and continents like Earth.
Where life might live beyond Earth 12 photos
EXPAND GALLERY
"Today, Earth is a little less lonely," Kepler researcher Jon Jenkins said.

The planet, Kepler-452b, is about 1,400 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus. It's about 60% bigger than Earth, NASA says, and is located in its star's habitable zone -- the region where life-sustaining liquid water is possible on the surface of a planet.

A visitor there would experience gravity about twice that of Earth's, and planetary scientists say the odds of it having a rocky surface are "better than even."

While it's a bit farther from its star than Earth is from the sun, its star is brighter, so the planet gets about the same amount of energy from its star as Earth does from the sun. And that sunlight would be very similar to Earth's, Jenkins said.

The planet "almost certainly has an atmosphere," Jenkins said, although scientists can't say what it's made of. But if the assumptions of planetary geologists are correct, he said, Kepler-452b's atmosphere would probably be thicker than Earth's, and it would have active volcanoes.




It takes 385 days for the planet to orbit its star, very similar to Earth's 365-day year, NASA said. And because it's spent so long orbiting in this zone -- 6 billion years -- it's had plenty of time to brew life, Jenkins said.

"That's substantial opportunity for life to arise, should all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet," he said in a statement.

Before the discovery of this planet, one called Kepler-186f was considered the most Earthlike, according to NASA. That planet, no more than a 10th bigger than Earth, is about 500 light-years away from us. But it gets only about a third of the energy from its star as Earth does from the sun, and noon there would look similar to the evening sky here, NASA says.

NASA: Proof of alien life closer
NASA: Proof of alien life closer 01:08
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The $600 million Kepler mission launched in 2009 with a goal to survey a portion of the Milky Way for habitable planets.

From a vantage point 64 million miles from Earth, it scans the light from distant stars, looking for almost imperceptible drops in a star's brightness, suggesting a planet has passed in front of it.

It has discovered more than 1,000 planets. Twelve of those, including Kepler-425b, have been less than twice the size of Earth and in the habitable zones of the stars they orbit.

Missions are being readied to move scientists closer to the goal of finding yet more planets and cataloging their atmospheres and other characteristics.

In 2017, NASA plans to launch a planet-hunting satellite called TESS that will be able to provide scientists with more detail on the size, mass and atmospheres of planets circling distant stars.

The next year, the James Webb Space Telescope will go up. That platform, NASA says, will provide astonishing insights into other worlds, including their color, seasonal differences, weather and even the potential presence of vegetation.

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