NASA discovered the smallest planet in the universe

Kepler Space Telescope of the US Space Agency (NASA) has discovered the smallest act outside the Solar System.

The newly discovered planet, named Kepler-37b , is only slightly larger than the Moon and takes 13 days to complete an orbit around its star. The surface temperature of this tiny planet reaches 400 degrees Celsius, making water and life impossible to survive.

Kepler-37b planetary simulation image.

Kepler-37b, along with two other planets orbiting a star like the Sun. , similar to Mercury in our Solar System.

With a size of only 80% Mercury, Kepler-37b is the first planet in the universe discovered to be smaller than any other planet in the Solar System. Such findings help astronomers better understand planetary systems in the universe.

Previously, scientists could only detect and identify larger sized planets and no planets were discovered previously smaller in diameter than those in the Solar System.

Thomas Barclay, an astronomer at NASA's Ames Research Center, said: 'Since the first planets outside the Solar System have been discovered, scientists have known other planetary systems. may be completely different from our Solar System. '

Kepler Space Telescope was named after the German astronomer in the 17th century Johannes Kepler. It was launched into space on March 7, 2009 with the mission of observing and searching in galaxies planets of the same size as Earth.

In January, scientists analyzed the Kepler telescope data and estimated that there are at least 17 billion planets in our galaxy.