Astronomers find potential exoplanet smaller than Earth
Posted: Thu, Jul 19, 2012, 6:57 AM ET (1057 GMT)
Astronomers examining data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have found evidence for an extrasolar planet two-thirds the size of the Earth tightly orbiting its star. The University of Central Florida astronomers found the potential world in Spitzer observations of GJ 436, a star already known to have a Neptune-sized exoplanet, when they noted small, periodic dips in the star's infrared light that they believe are caused by another planet transiting the star's disk. If the object, designated UCF-1.01, is a planet, it would be two-thirds the diameter of the Earth, although its mass is unknown; it completes one orbit of GJ 436 in just 1.4 days, creating a surface temperature of about 600 degrees Celsius. Astronomers also detected evidence for a third planet, UCF-1.02, orbiting the star, but concluded there is not enough data to confirm the objects are planets, calling them planet candidates for now.
Astronomers examining data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have found evidence for an extrasolar planet two-thirds the size of the Earth tightly orbiting its star. The University of Central Florida astronomers found the potential world in Spitzer observations of GJ 436, a star already known to have a Neptune-sized exoplanet, when they noted small, periodic dips in the star's infrared light that they believe are caused by another planet transiting the star's disk. If the object, designated UCF-1.01, is a planet, it would be two-thirds the diameter of the Earth, although its mass is unknown; it completes one orbit of GJ 436 in just 1.4 days, creating a surface temperature of about 600 degrees Celsius. Astronomers also detected evidence for a third planet, UCF-1.02, orbiting the star, but concluded there is not enough data to confirm the objects are planets, calling them planet candidates for now.
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