Hum Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 (edited) Baikonur, Kazakhstan (SPX) Dec 28, 2006 Launched Wednesday from Kazakhstan, the unique astronomy mission COROT is on its way, its two-and-a-half year search for undiscovered planets suitable for human habitation outside our solar system. Its twin goals are to detect exoplanets orbiting around other stars and to probe the mysteries of stellar interiors as never before. COROT is a French national space agency (CNES)-led mission to which ESA and European partners are adding a particularly strong international flavour. COROT was launched by a Soyuz-Fregat from Baikonur in Kazakhstan at 15:23 CET. COROT stands for 'Convection Rotation and planetary Transits'. The name describes the mission's scientific goals. 'Convection and rotation' refer to the satellite's capability to probe stellar interiors, studying the acoustic waves that ripple across the surface of stars, a technique called asteroseismology. COROT is a cooperation between France's national space research centre CNES -- which is assuming the lion's share of the 170 million euros (225 million dollars) cost -- the European Space Agency (ESA), Brazil, Germany, Austria and Belgium. Armed with a 30-centimetre (12-inch) telescope and two cameras, COROT (Convection Rotation and planetary Transits) will seek out new planets, possibly confirming the existence of rocky celestial bodies with physical properties comparable to the solar system's own planets. It is also designed to study the vibratory performance of stars to determine their internal structure, age and composition. In the past decade scientists have detected around 190 exoplanets -- planets outside our solar system orbiting stars -- from Earth. By monitoring some 120,000 stars, the closest 40 light years from Earth, COROT promises to find many more. source Edited December 28, 2006 by Hum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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