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The most earthlike planet yet
Astronomy ^
| 02/02/06
| Francis Reddy
Posted on 02/02/2006 5:27:18 PM PST by KevinDavis
Scientists using an observational technique that exploits Albert Einstein's theory of gravity report the discovery of a planet just 5.5 times Earth's mass. The new world, located in Sagittarius toward the Milky Way's center, orbits a cool M-dwarf star 21,500 light-years away.
"This finding means that Earth-mass planets are not that uncommon," says Kailash Sahu of Baltimore's Space Telescope Science Institute and a member of the discovery team. "If we found one, there must be more."
The new world is the first discovered around another star that agrees with astronomers' theories of how planetary systems form. Princeton astronomer Bohdan Paczynski explains: "Around red dwarfs, the theory predicts Earth- and Neptune-sized planets to be more common than Jupiter-sized planets. The planets would be located between 0.1 and 10 times the Earth-Sun distance from their stars."
(Excerpt) Read more at astronomy.com ...
TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: earth2; earthlikeplanet; space
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To: RightWhale; Brett66; xrp; gdc314; anymouse; NonZeroSum; jimkress; discostu; The_Victor; ...
2
posted on
02/02/2006 5:27:46 PM PST
by
KevinDavis
(http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
To: KevinDavis
Maybe we can send Hillary over there? :-)
3
posted on
02/02/2006 5:33:11 PM PST
by
QQQQ
To: KevinDavis
Earth size, sun like earth's sun, earthlike orbit, water, oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere . . . ?
Pack the kids and let's go!
4
posted on
02/02/2006 5:33:38 PM PST
by
BenLurkin
(O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
To: QQQQ; All
No she can stay here.. We should pack up and leave.
5
posted on
02/02/2006 5:34:15 PM PST
by
KevinDavis
(http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
To: KevinDavis
How about giving her a one way ticket to here . . .
. . . ? Fitting, I think.
6
posted on
02/02/2006 5:37:00 PM PST
by
BenLurkin
(O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
To: KevinDavis
"This finding means that Earth-mass planets are not that uncommon," says Kailash Sahu of Baltimore's Space Telescope Science Institute and a member of the discovery team. "If we found one, there must be more." Wow. Since people have found me, there must be more! I can't wait to meet the other Mees.
7
posted on
02/02/2006 5:38:04 PM PST
by
lepton
("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
To: KevinDavis
Sorry, I usually just lurk SpacePing threads, but what's the size/age/radiation of an "M-dwarf" star?
To: IslandJeff; All
9
posted on
02/02/2006 5:43:15 PM PST
by
KevinDavis
(http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
To: KevinDavis
Thanks, but, re-reading it, their speculation is in the last sentence:
Its M-type star has only 22 percent the mass of our Sun and puts out a feeble light. Although the planet circles the star at less than 3 times the Earth-Sun distance, astronomers believe its surface temperature is 364° Fahrenheit (220° C).
To: IslandJeff; All
Not a nice place to visit..
11
posted on
02/02/2006 5:49:43 PM PST
by
KevinDavis
(http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
To: KevinDavis
Brrr.
Still, knowing little about solar life cycles, could there not be the possibility that the mass of the star may have been larger at one point? Is the star (unnamed, as far as I can tell) "coming" or "going"?
Great stuff, regardless. Really where mathematics meets physics.
To: BenLurkin
the discovery of a planet just 5.5 times Earth's mass "just" 5.5 x as large as earth?
13
posted on
02/02/2006 6:00:40 PM PST
by
Michael.SF.
(Things turn out best, for who make the best of the way things turn out.--- Jack Buck (RIP))
To: IslandJeff
> Is the star (unnamed, as far as I can tell) "coming" or "going"?
If it's an M-class star... hard to tell how long it's been around, but it'll probably last on the order of a trillion years. Little buggers are dim and burn slow. Great place for a starfaring species in decline to retire to.
14
posted on
02/02/2006 6:03:13 PM PST
by
orionblamblam
(A furore Normannorum libra nos, Domine)
To: BenLurkin
> Pack the kids and let's go!
At 21,000 light years away, it'll take a while to get there. Make sure to splurge on the first class seats. 21,000 light years trapped in coach... bleah.
15
posted on
02/02/2006 6:05:15 PM PST
by
orionblamblam
(A furore Normannorum libra nos, Domine)
To: IslandJeff
This kind of star is small and cool compared to the sun.
16
posted on
02/02/2006 6:07:20 PM PST
by
RightWhale
(pas de lieu, Rhone que nous)
To: orionblamblam
Makes my knees ache just to think about.
17
posted on
02/02/2006 6:42:58 PM PST
by
BenLurkin
(O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
To: Michael.SF.
This doesn't sound like it will be the right one. I'm already breaking the bed frame -- just imagine if I weighed 5.5 times as much!
18
posted on
02/02/2006 6:43:57 PM PST
by
BenLurkin
(O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
To: IslandJeff
astronomers believe its surface temperature is 364° Fahrenheit (220° C). Probably due to global warming!
19
posted on
02/02/2006 6:44:24 PM PST
by
burzum
(A single reprimand does more for a man of intelligence than a hundred lashes for a fool.--Prov 17:10)
To: lepton
Bad logic. Finding you would imply more people with the same general body shape, mass, etc. etc., not an exact copy.
20
posted on
02/02/2006 6:49:15 PM PST
by
dpa5923
(Small minds talk about people, normal minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas.)
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