Another Earth? The Story of Kepler 22-b

Far far away in the universe, in outer space, 635 light-years from where you are sitting, there exists a planet. It was the first discovered planet containing a habitable zone just like our very own Sun. This look-alike planet Earth was discovered on December 5, 2011, by, NASA’s Kepler telescope. The planet is called Kepler 22-b. When a planet is located near a Sun-like star’s habitable zone it means there’s a possibility of the existence of water on the surface of that planet. And when there’s water somewhere, there is a high chance of the progress of human life.

Scientists call Kepler 22-b an exoplanet because it lies outside of our solar system. Finding an exoplanet plus a planet presented in a habitable zone like Kepler 22-b is not that easy. Planets like this are always hidden in the bright glare of stars, because of which our telescopes lack the ability to capture them. Hmm… Here comes a question, If our telescope can’t figure out planets like Kepler 22-b then how did they catch it? The scientists were analyzing the stars to see if they could find something strange and unusual about them. There they noticed this Earth-like planet, It was blocking the light of the star which caught their attention and they studied it in a focused manner. After that scientists were able to learn about the size of this giant Earth and how it orbits.

What do we know about Kepler 22-b?

NASA has limited information regarding Kepler 22-b such as the size of Kepler 22-b is estimated to be 2.4 times larger than the Earth’s actual size. It carries a comfortable average temperature of 22-degree celsius. One year on Kepler 22-b is 290 days instead of 365. Kepler 22-b is 15 times closer to its own Sun. Imagine, if we were this much closer to our Sun we would be fried, lol. On the other hand, The sun present in Kepler 22-b’s orbit is similar but smaller and cooler as compared to ours. The Kepler 22-b’s Sun must be smaller but will provide the same amount of heat and energy as ours because of the close proximity to its planet. The weather of Kepler 22-b is just like the spring season on Earth. Now you must be thinking why don’t we all just shift there? Well, sometimes our universe can be a cruel place because not everything looks beautiful as it sounds.

Just as its positive points, there are some negative points of living on Kepler 22-b. Some models that have been studied by NASA show that Kepler 22-b rotates on its sides. Something like our very own Uranus. It might sound insignificant to you but it can be really dangerous and deadly for the people living at the south pole and north pole. Living there would add nothing but darkness and cold because of no sunlight for almost half a year. A planet spinning on its sides means the temperature could change from boiling to freezing. Which I don’t think would be great for human life in any way. But don’t be hopeless, because our galaxy is too big to lose hope since there’s more to come. Some studies say that the ocean of Kepler 22-b might be 50m (164 ft) deep. The ocean would work as a natural climate controller and will keep the wild temperature aside. For your understanding let me tell you that, Ocean stores the heat in summer and releases it in winter to make the temperature bearable.

But wait, How will you make it all the way to the Kepler 22-b? I mean, it would approximately take 635 years if you travel at the speed of light toward it. Let’s discuss this.

How to reach and survive on Kepler 22-b?

There comes an option of hibernation, where you’ll be kept in a chamber that will take care of your body’s nutrients and wastes throughout the whole journey. NASA has already built a cryosleep device that keeps the astronaut’s body at a fixed temperature of 32 degrees celsius (89 °F). This process will work as a natural hibernation. Even if you’re in deep and sweet sleep, the trip is still quite risky. Other than this, we don’t have any idea of what would be the pull of gravity there. What if the pull of gravity was 2 times higher there as compared to Earth? This means if you weigh 50 kg here, you will be 100kg there. It can be a tough time for heavy people. A person weighing 80 kg on Earth would be weighing 160 kg on Kepler 22-b, which simply means more power would be required to take steps on that surface. Settlers like that would definitely need to gain power and work on intense strength training if they want to ramble on the surface of Kepler 22-b.

Humans aren’t the only ones that will be affected by strong gravity. Plants brought from earth to be set in the ground to grow might not survive there. Pet lovers who brought up their pets to the new world will step into the evolution process once again to get used to the environment. Which will lead the creatures to develop additional legs to walk around. It can also swap the location and size of the internal organs.

But the mysteries don’t end up there.

Scientists aren’t sure about Kepler 22-b’s surface. They are not sure if it’s rocky or gaseous like Neptune. If the travelers woke up from cryosleep after reaching there and found themselves on a gaseous planet, that would be miserable. Like they wouldn’t even have a place to land their ship XD. Well, jokes aside, in that case, the crew can not come back to earth after traveling 635 years. They would need to figure out how they can build a cloud city. But what if they entered the planet and came to know that its filled full of water? A submarine town would be a good choice for survival. Hmm, what if Kepler 22-b is a rocky planet? It’s totally a jackpot then and the 635 years of traveling is worth it, Right?

Excited? Not so fast buddy.

Venus is also a rocky planet, But its atmosphere isn’t habitable. The temperature there is far too high. If this was the situation with Kepler 22-b, our only option to get there is to employ robots first for building underground shelters. Maybe, just maybe underground shelters will be able to make the temperature cool enough to bear.

Why did I choose to write on this topic?

I’ve seen many teenagers who aren’t happy with their country, and some are even unhappy with their world. I chose this topic to write on just to clarify that we should thank Allah for giving us such a habitable place to live happily in. Imagine living on a planet containing only water. It’s so hard that I can’t even explain that to you. It is just to show you that there is no prime location for the survival of human beings that is guaranteed except Earth. It might seem interesting and exciting to live on a liquid or gaseous planet, but it will end with a massive regret. At last, I would say that love yourself, love your country and love the planet you’re living on. Stop ruining it,

we will be gone but the Earth will still be offering its premium services to our new generation.