Are there other planets similar to planet Earth?

Kepler 22B.

by Miguel Garduno

We live in a world called Earth, and people think that we are not killing our world–but sadly, we are. We are killing our world by creating pollution, killing our plants, not throwing our garbage in bins, and many other ways. But many people don’t care to help save our world; if these people don’t stop and help our global community, pretty soon the world could end without us expecting it. But scientists are finding new worlds, light years away from us, that could be other types of Earths.

One example is Kepler-22B. Kepler-22B looks exactly like Earth, but it’s a few light years away from us. It was discovered in 2011, when NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was using the Kepler Telescope (after which Kepler 22B was named) to find other Earth-like planets as part of the Kepler mission. There’s also a Kepler spacecraft, which was launched in March of 2009. So far, NASA has discovered 4,706 potentially Earth-like planets (2,326 in the first 16 months of its search).

Once confirmed by follow-up studies, these potential discoveries could continue to increase the tally of exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) over its current count of 2,056 other planets similar to Earth. Kepler-22B was the first exoplanet found to orbit in a star’s habitable zone light years away from Earth. So this means that Kepler-22B may have liquid water on its surface, just like Earth, making it the closest possible sister planet. NASA wrote this about Kepler-22B: “the planet is 2.4 times the size of Earth, making it the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a star like our sun.”

Some scientists think that Mars could be a solution, because they believe there could be water on Mars and it’a a similar distance from the sun as Earth.

Moving to another planet similar to Earth could give humans a second chance. It will also be a responsibility, because we will have to take care of the new planet so the same problems don’t happen again. In case anyone hasn’t noticed, our world is dying. Global warming is increasing, people are still polluting are world, and weather is getting more extreme. There are many planets that could help us find a solution. It’s just a matter of time until we find one.

The destruction we cause (natural disasters)

by Melvin Prudente

People harm the Earth, but they do not realize that when they harm the Earth, they also harm themselves. One of the main effects of us harming the Earth is the increase in natural disasters, such as tornadoes, blizzards, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. Natural disasters are natural events that take away human life or damage human property.

At least 80 people die from tornadoes each year, and at least 19 people die from hurricanes. According to ScienceLine.edu, “Over 1000 tornadoes occur each year mainly in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and eastern Colorado.” Scientists say that 200 more natural disasters can happen per year because of pollution, especially the appearance of warm or cold fronts in unexpected places.

Pollution is one of the causes of global warming. The increased pollutants in the atmosphere can   damage the ozone layer. This creates the unexpected cold & warm fronts, which creates floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. Scientists have collected data that the more polluted places in the USA are 20% more likely to have tornadoes, hurricanes and flash floods. How would you feel if these natural disasters were to take your family member’s life?

The government has agreed to create many factories in the US that cost many thousands of dollars each. They don’t realize that the effects of pollution can cause disasters that will waste a lot more money. EF5 tornadoes (otherwise known as a Category 5 tornado, which is the strongest kind) cost an average of about 2.8 billion dollars in damage per tornado.

Aftermath of a tornado in Oklahoma.

Natural disasters affect the development, economy and society of many places, such as Japan. Japan is the main site of the 10 worst natural disasters of the 21st century. It is where tsunamis, earthquakes, typhoons and volcanic eruptions are common. Asia is one of the most polluted continents, and it is where many terrible natural disasters in the 21st century occur. More than 1,100 natural disasters have occurred in japan in the past 10 years, and their rate is increasing.

We should stop littering and creating air pollution, because in return we could have more natural disasters. We are creating a problem that we can not control at all. This is why we should stop polluting, because of the aftereffects and the fact that we’re harming the place we live.

The search for new planets similar to our own

by Justin Mendoza

Is it possible to find a planet that has important fundamental features in common with Earth, that will allow us to live there if we have to? For example, a planet with a breathable atmosphere or resources such as coal? So when our population increases to where the planet cannot hold it, there will be a planet to fill the rest of our population in?

Well that question is unsolved. Why? Because we are still developing our understanding of other planets in this universe. As far as we still know, there is not a planet that has the salient features we need for our survival.

Normally, when NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) looks for habitable planets similar to Earth, they try to find glimpses of water; ordinarily, water indicates a possibility of life. They also look for previously undiscovered things, like natural resources or elements or substances that they’ve never seen before. They do this so we can improve our comprehension of the conditions on other planets. In addition, NASA looks at a planet’s distance from the sun in its solar system. This is because the temperature on a planet can occasionally depend on its distance from the sun. For example, Neptune one of the planets in our solar system. It is a great distance from the sun, which is why its surface temperature is -214 degrees Celsius. That is equal to -353 Fahrenheit! Planets closer to their suns, such as Earth, tend to have higher temperatures.

Much of the time, we are looking for planets similar to Earth, and there’s a chance that we have almost accomplished that goal. In the Kepler -62 system, they might have found an oceanic planet, similar to Earth: Kepler 62E and Kepler 62F. However, this discovery raises some questions worth thinking about. For example, how could any intelligent inhabitants build a technological society in an oceanic world? Also, how can we develop our knowledge of an oceanic world as we explore it?

We are still discovering new planets, and one of them could be the new Earth.

Our understanding of the universe is not even close to complete, and I don’t think it ever will be.