This new discovery is a fun one to share! Researchers have discovered an Earth-sized planet, orbiting around a dim red star about 185 light-years away. That is really far away! The planet’s official name is K2-315b, but it is nicknamed Pi Earth because it orbits its star every 3.14 days. (This is a pun based on the mathematical pi, whose first 3 digits are 3.14, representing the ratio of the circumference of any circle to the diameter of that circle.)
Because this planet, Pi Earth, is so far away, scientists are not able to discover very much about its atmosphere or its temperature, but they can imagine based on the fact that it is a simple ball heated by only one cool star. A cool star is usually about 5,500°F. Our Sun is about 10,000°F in comparison. With that information, they speculate that it is probably about 368°F on Pi Earth, too warm to be habitable, but maybe just the right temperature to bake a pie!
Pi day, which is celebrated on March 14th, (another pun because March 14th is 3.14) is a fun way to celebrate this amazing mathematical ratio. A common way to celebrate Pi Day is by… you guessed it… eating pie. Don’t forget the whipped cream!
Did this inspire you or your kid to look towards the skies? They may enjoy looking at the craters on the moon with our Lunar Scope, a great introduction to sky viewing for kids.
