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More than 10 years after the discovery of the first extra-solar planet, a European team of astronomers have confirmed that one of the planets might indeed be located within the habitable zone around the star Gliese 581.
Until a few years ago, most of the newly discovered exo-planets were Jupiter-mass, probably gaseous, planets. Recently, astronomers have announced the discovery of several planets that are potentially much smaller super-Earths with a minimum mass lower than 10 Earth masses.
In April, a European team announced in Astronomy & Astrophysics the discovery of two new planets orbiting the M star Gliese 581 (a red dwarf), with masses of at least 5 and 8 Earth masses. Given their distance to their parent star, these new planets -Gliese 581c and Gliese 581d- were the first ever possible candidates for habitable planets.
Until a few years ago, most of the newly discovered exo-planets were Jupiter-mass, probably gaseous, planets. Recently, astronomers have announced the discovery of several planets that are potentially much smaller super-Earths with a minimum mass lower than 10 Earth masses.
In April, a European team announced in Astronomy & Astrophysics the discovery of two new planets orbiting the M star Gliese 581 (a red dwarf), with masses of at least 5 and 8 Earth masses. Given their distance to their parent star, these new planets -Gliese 581c and Gliese 581d- were the first ever possible candidates for habitable planets.
Gliese 581: Extrasolar Planet Might Indeed Be Habitable
In April, a European team of astronomers announced the discovery of two possibly habitable Earth-like planets. Two new detailed studies of this system confirm that one of the planets might indeed be located within the habitable zone around the star Gliese 581. More than 10 years after the...
www.sciencedaily.com
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