Major Discovery: New Planet Could Harbor Water and Life
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0704..._exoplanet.html
- The planet is designated Gliese 581 C
- The only other currently known planet that could support life.
- Likely to have water and maybe life
- "Rocky planet like Earth or a waterworld covered entirely by oceans"
- Mean temperature somewhere from 32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit
- 20.5 light-years away, which is kinda close for space distance.
- Smallest planet discovered outside of our solar system
- 50% larger than Earth; 5x more massive
- Orbits Gliese 581, which is about 1/3 the size of the Sun. There are at least 2 other larger planets that orbit the same star.
It's relatively close to our solar system, which is a good sign. That makes it even more likely that there could be others out there, since this one is so close.
Here's another article about this...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4039066a4560.html
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0704..._exoplanet.html
- The planet is designated Gliese 581 C
- The only other currently known planet that could support life.
- Likely to have water and maybe life
- "Rocky planet like Earth or a waterworld covered entirely by oceans"
- Mean temperature somewhere from 32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit
- 20.5 light-years away, which is kinda close for space distance.
- Smallest planet discovered outside of our solar system
- 50% larger than Earth; 5x more massive
- Orbits Gliese 581, which is about 1/3 the size of the Sun. There are at least 2 other larger planets that orbit the same star.
It's relatively close to our solar system, which is a good sign. That makes it even more likely that there could be others out there, since this one is so close.
Here's another article about this...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4039066a4560.html
