medium · SAT Reading & Writing
Astronomers have hypothesized that the presence of 'super-Earths'—planets larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune—is common in the Milky Way.
Data from the Kepler space telescope supports this, showing a high frequency of such planets orbiting M-dwarf stars. Admittedly, the current detection methods are biased toward planets with short orbital periods, which may inflate the perceived abundance of these worlds. Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence as a whole?
- It explains the chemical composition of the atmospheres found on large gaseous planets like Neptune.
- It states that M-dwarf stars are the only stars in the galaxy capable of hosting super-Earths.
- It demonstrates that the Kepler telescope is the most accurate instrument ever built for measuring planetary orbits.
- It acknowledges a limitation in the data that could affect the validity of the hypothesis.
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