November 2023

Artist's concept of the Kepler-385 star system (Image NASA/Daniel Rutter)

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An article to be published in “The Journal of Planetary Science” reports updates to the catalog of exoplanet candidates discovered with NASA’s Kepler space telescope which offers confirmation of the presence of seven planets in the Kepler-385 star system. This result was obtained by applying examination methods that were significantly improved compared to the past, obtaining new results from old observations. That includes this system among the very few with over six verified or at least candidate planets, making it particularly interesting. However, all of these planets are closer to their star than the inner edge of that system’s habitable zone and receive a significant amount of energy from it. The consequence is that none of them can be similar to Earth.

The Shenzhou 16 capsule after landing (Photo courtesy Xinhua/Li Zhipeng)

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Yesterday, the three Chinese taikonauts of the Shenzhou 16 mission returned to Earth after spending 154 days on the Chinese Tiangong space station, landing at a site called Dongfeng in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. During the capsule’s descent, some observers noticed a hole in the parachute. The speed of descent may have been faster than normal and the capsule toppled over after landing. It has already happened in the past that the capsule didn’t remain vertical and no consequences were reported for the taikonauts on board Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu. In fact, there are no official communications regarding anomalies during the landing.