Apr 25 2007
Newly discovered planet could have water and support life
According to Space.com and scads of blogs, a planet that is 50 percent bigger and five times as massive as planet Earth has been discovered, which could support liquid water and life as we know it.
The planet is named Gliese 581 C, after its star Gliese 581, which is a small red star that is a scant 20.5 light years away. Gliese 581 is one-third as massive as the sun.
Gliese 581 C is located at the perfect distance from its sun to make it a life-supporting planet because water would not freeze or vaporize away. But astronomers have not yet been able to look for signs of biology, and the planet has the potential to change our view of the universe.
Gliese 581 C is also the smallest planet discovered outside our solar system and is located 15 times closer to its sun than earth is to ours. The planet’s red dwarf sun is 50 times dimmer than our sun, and cooler, so it can orbit much closer while remaining in what’s called the habitable or life supporting zone. The size of Gliese 581 C and its distance to the sun means that one year on the planet is equal to 13 Earth days.
Two other planets have been discovered orbiting the dwarf sun, also known as an M dwarf. One is a “hot Jupiter” gas planet that is 15 times the mass of Earth and orbits closer to its star than Gliese 581 C. The other is an 8 Earth-mass planet that orbits outside the star’s habitable zone.
Scientists discovered the planet using the HARPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope in La Sille, Chile.
(An artist’s impression of the planetary system around Gliese 581, with the newly discovered planet in the foreground. Courtesty of ESO)
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