Small exoplanet found around nearby star
Posted: Wed, Apr 22, 2009, 8:55 AM ET (1255 GMT)
Astronomers announced Tuesday the discovery of the smallest extrasolar planet yet found, a world less than twice the mass of the Earth just 21 light-years away. The planet, Gliese 581 e, if the fourth planet found around the star Gliese 581, an M-class star 21 light-years away. The planet was found by European astronomers using the radial velocity technique by a European team using an advanced spectrograph at the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-meter telescope in Chile. The planet closely orbits the star, with a period of only 3.15 days, and astronomers said the world is likely a rocky body. They added that another planet in the same system, Gliese 581 d, a world seven times as massive as the Earth in a 67-day orbit, likely was an icy body that migrated in from the other regions of the star system and may now have deep oceans of water.
Astronomers announced Tuesday the discovery of the smallest extrasolar planet yet found, a world less than twice the mass of the Earth just 21 light-years away. The planet, Gliese 581 e, if the fourth planet found around the star Gliese 581, an M-class star 21 light-years away. The planet was found by European astronomers using the radial velocity technique by a European team using an advanced spectrograph at the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-meter telescope in Chile. The planet closely orbits the star, with a period of only 3.15 days, and astronomers said the world is likely a rocky body. They added that another planet in the same system, Gliese 581 d, a world seven times as massive as the Earth in a 67-day orbit, likely was an icy body that migrated in from the other regions of the star system and may now have deep oceans of water.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, June 7
EUSPA launches new EU Space Market Report
EUSPA — 8:20 am ET (1220 GMT) RIDE! Secures One Ton of capacity on SEOPS Waymaker Rideshare Program with Inaugural Mission in 2028
Ride — 8:17 am ET (1217 GMT) JAL Group Launches “ARGO PROJECT,” the World’s First Lunar Transport Service by an Airline
ispace — 8:17 am ET (1217 GMT) Astrotech to Pursue Strategic Lunar Industrial Platform Targeting Resource Extraction, Autonomous Infrastructure, and Future Moon-Based Semiconductor and Quantum Computing Applications
Astrotech — 8:13 am ET (1213 GMT) IHI constellation plan gathers pace with initial data acquisition
IHI Aerospace — 8:10 am ET (1210 GMT) |
