I.

Kepler-47 Star System

1. The Kepler-47 star system has 2 stars and 2 planets. One star has a similar size to our
sun, but only 84 percent as bright. The second star is only measuring only one-third
the size of the sun and less than 1 percent as bright. For the planets, there are two
called Kepler-47b and Kepler-47c. Kepler-47b is a gas giant and has a mass of 2.7
times Jupiter’s. As it is considered to be dense enough to be a brown dwarf, the planet
itself is too small to be considered one. While on the other hand, Kepler-47c is also a
gas giant and has an estimated mass of 17 Jupiter masses. The planet is dense enough
to be considered a brown dwarf, and it orbits within the binary-system’s habitable
zone. (Filmer, 2013)

2. The discovery of these kinds of exoplanets impacts my understanding of the

formation of planets because this gives more information and details about planets
and how each differs from one another. We can have a better understanding on how
the universe was created and how specifically how planets are formed in space.
Knowing more and more planets gives us a possibility of humans living in different
planets sometime in the future. Scientists made a theory of the formation of solar
systems and planets which called the “Solar Nebular Theory.” This theory starts off
when a solar nebula was shocked by nearby supernova. After that, the gravity’s mass
was used to form a star and centripetal force which flattens the nebula into a disc. By
this time plantesimals were formed, then these were pushed/pulled away from each
other by solar winds which separated gaseous planets from solid planets. In our solar
system, the solar nebula theory can be applicable. Planets such as Mercury, Venus,
Mars, Earth and Mars, they are considered to be solid planets while planets such as
 Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are considered to be gaseous planets. This shows
how the solar winds pushed away the solid planets from the gaseous planets.

3. Only 1 planet, Kepler-47c, falls within the circumbinary habitable zone of the Kepler-
47 star system. The exoplanet, with a radius of 4.63 R, is too large to likely be rocky,
and because of this the planet itself may not be habitable. (Revolvy, n.d.) Scientists
discovered that Kepler-47c's large size makes it impossible for sustaining life. This
planet has 303 days for 1 year which about 62 days earlier. The surface of the planet
is covered by methane and water vapor which is not a good environment for life.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, n.d.) The planet is also located at
the farthest orbit of the Kepler-47 star system, considering it to be a gas giant.

II. Recent news on asteroid Bennu:

1. The recent news stating that asteroid Bennu will crashed into earth at the year 2135 is
fake news. According to Beshore, there is a slim chance –about 1 in 2500- that it may
hit the earth during the late 22nd century. He also said that, “If astronomers someday
identify an asteroid that presents a significant impact hazard to Earth, the first step
will be to gather more information about that asteroid. Fortunately, the OSIRIS-REx
mission will have given us the experience and tools needed to do the job.” (National
Aeuronautics and Space Adminstration, 2014) However mission officials stressed
saying that there is a chance is slim, and the space rock is not even big enough to be
an existential threat to the planet, despite what some media reports claimed. “We're
not talking about an asteroid that could destroy the Earth," OSIRIS-REx principal
investigator Dante Lauretta, who is part of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the
University of Arizona, told Space.com. "We're not anywhere near that kind of energy
for an impact.” He also said, "Our uncertainties will shrink, so that will allow us to
recalculate the impact probability. We don't know which direction it'll go. It could go
down, because we just eliminated a bunch of possible keyholes that Bennu may hit.
Or it may go up, because in the area that's left we have a higher concentration of
keyholes compared to the overall area of the uncertainty plane."Also, In order for a
global catastrophe to occur, astronomers estimated that a space rock must be at least 1
kilometer wide. (Wall, 2016)

References:
Filmer, J. (2013, September 14). Worlds with Two Stars: The Kepler-47 System. Retrieved from Futurism:
https://futurism.com/worlds-with-two-stars-the-kepler-47-system/
National Aeuronautics and Space Adminstration. (2014, November 19). New Animation Follows Long,
Strange Trip of Bennu – Target of NASA's Asteroid Sample Return Mission. Retrieved from
National Aeuronautics and Space Adminstration:
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/bennus-journey

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). Exoplanet: Kepler-47c. Retrieved from Science
On a Sphere: https://sos.noaa.gov/datasets/exoplanet-kepler-47c/

Revolvy. (n.d.). Kepler-47c. Retrieved from Revolvy:

https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Kepler-47c

Wall, M. (2016, August 1). No, Asteroid Bennu Won't Destroy Earth. Retrieved from Space.com:
https://www.space.com/33616-asteroid-bennu-will-not-destroy-earth.html