Ladies and gentlemen, we are now officially one step closer to finding the famous galaxy from far, far away that houses the Jedi Order, the Sith Lords, the Republic Senate that makes our Earth governments look efficient and scruffy nerf-herder smugglers.
And there was much rejoicing from the nerds, the geeks, and the fanboys/fangirls.
NASA has just announced their discovery of Tatooine, the famous home planet of Anakin Skywalker (and later, his son Luke) that was known for orbiting two suns.
.... Okay, so it's not a desert planet governed by Hutt gangsters and populated with slaves and exiled Jedi Masters. The planet, named Kepler-16b, is actually a cold, gaseous planet that isn't fit to sustain life, about the size of Saturn. The two suns that the planet orbits are both significantly smaller than our own Sun- one with a mass of 69% of what our Sun has to offer, the other with a 20% mass. Given that the planet is too cold, even with two suns to orbit, to have liquid water on its rocky surface, it's incapable of sustaining life.
However, NASA scientists are pleased with this discovery. As scientist William Borucki said, "Given that most stars in our galaxy are part of a binary system, this means the opportunities for life are much broader than if planets form only around single stars."
Which means that somewhere, out in the vast cosmos of space, the real Tatooine that we all know and love may well exist. Ditto with the Jedi Masters, protocol droids and walking carpets.
Now, if you'll excuse me, this news is cause to celebrate with Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope, and a certain scruffy nerf-herder and his farm kid sidekick. I'll emerge from the lair sometime next week, when my inner fangirl finishes happy-dancing.
Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393115,00.asp
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