very interdasting. i didnt think kepler was able to make such concrete assertions about exoplanets. it can detect them mostly by their shadow as they pass in front of their sun, but is limited in its ability to determine surface environments. it can make educated guesses about the make up of the planet and atmosphere with light specrography but thats about it. James Webb Space telescope on the other hand will be able to directly image exoplanets and analyze their atmospheres to determine which planets are abundant in the elements required for life as we know it. oxygen, nitrogen, silica, carbon, hydrogen etc. this honestly sounds like the timeline is moving up for possible discloure. James Webb wont be launched till later this year but this is the sort of news we would expect from its discoveries, not kepler.
>James Webb Space telescope
largest scientific instrument ever sent to space. its mirror is made of 18 mirrors each approximately the size of hubbels single mirror
it will be in a parallel orbit to earth around the sun 1 million miles away from earth. to put that in perspective the moon is only 250k miles from earth. its the most technologically advanced instrument ever made after maybe cern. there are 100s of actions that have to go perfectly upon deployment once in orbit or the sun will fry all its electronics. one hiccup and its fucked. and because its 1 million miles away in space theres no going up for repairs like they did with Hubble. if it works, it will be the catalyst for admitting scientifically that there is indeed life on other planets.
it will also be able to see past the "fog" at approximately 300k light years from the big bang that no telescope has ever been able to penetrate. it will be a game changer…new physics, new planets, new life.