Factors conducive to the development of life are thought to survive on a brand new planet discovered this year. For 11 years, planet hunters are monitoring a red dwarf star called Gliese 581 about 20 light years away suspected of harboring an Earthlike planet. A team of astronomers announced Wednesday that they had hit pay-dirt with the finding of Gliese 581g, an Earthlike planet within the star’s “Goldilocks zone,” an orbital distance where temperatures are considered suitable for existence.
Here is the Goldilocks zone
Of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Steven S. Vogt took part within the announcement of Geliese 581g as the brand new world found in 2010. Of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, R. Paul Butler also took place in this announcement. The New York Times reports that Gliese 581g (GLEE-za) makes an orbit each 37 days with a 14 million mile distance. It orbits the dim red star known as Gliese 581. Water and existence can survive on this world because it is in the best place in the Goldilocks zone. Apparently it is the perfect temperature meaning it is not too hot or too cold and can sustain life. Vogt said the chances “are almost 100 percent” that there is life on Gliese 581g.
Gliese 581g may just have life there
We know the star, Gliese 581, it only a 3rd the size of the sun however is one hundred times brighter. It has six known planets orbiting it, including Gliese 581g. A report on two of the Gliese 581 planets comes from Scientific Americans. It claims that the Goldilocks zone has these two exoplanets in it. Those worlds have Gliese 581g orbiting between them. It is known to be about three times as large as earth is. The Goldilocks zone has never had an exoplanet found in it before. Now there is one. It doesn’t have many similarities with Earth. There are a few differences. The planet hunter’s suspect Gliese 581g is “tidally locked,” which means only one side faces its star, like the moon does to Earth. Surface temperatures are expected to range from 31 below zero Fahrenheit on the night side to 158 degrees on the day side. Vogt said that with this “edo-longitudes” of permanent night and day life could very possibly exist.
In 2010, exoplanets are being identified
The “wobbly,” technique, or radial velocity, was how Gliese 581g was found. As explained in the Los Angeles Times, the wobble technique detects exoplanets by measuring a barely discernible gravitational tug they give their star during orbit. The Gliese 581 wobbles were indeed created by Gliese 581g as a result of brightness measurements the world hunters made.
Citations
New York Times
nytimes.com/2010/09/30/science/space/30planet.html?_r=1 and ref=science
Scientific American
scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=habitable-exoplanet-gliese-581
Los Angeles times
latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-earth-like-planet,,7897054.story
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