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To: KevinDavis
It orbits close to its host star, completing a full circle in only 5.4 days at an average distance of about 3.7 million miles (6 million kilometers).

Probably like Phoenix.

3.7 mil? That sure is close. You'd think the star would have all but vaporized this planet. That thing has to look and feel like a big ball bearing.

8 posted on 11/30/2005 7:43:47 PM PST by Jigsaw John
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To: Jigsaw John

If it has a period of 5.4 days, then the estimation of mass may have been via the displacement of the red dwarf. If it were further out, like say a billion miles, then the planet's influence on the star would have been a lot less, since gravity follows an inverse square function.

Also keep in mind that the red dwarf has a much lower heat output than the Sun, thus it would not be like an object that would be orbiting 3.7 million miles from the Sun. Still it might be questionable if this is a gas giant like Neptune. At that distance would much of the atmosphere cook off? Maybe someone in that field more qualified to run the numbers.


13 posted on 11/30/2005 7:53:51 PM PST by Fred Hayek (Liberalism is a mental disorder)
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To: Jigsaw John
Probably like Phoenix.

3.7 mil? That sure is close. You'd think the star would have all but vaporized this planet. That thing has to look and feel like a big ball bearing.

We could verify this by listening for Spanish-language radio signals.

17 posted on 11/30/2005 8:09:01 PM PST by BlazingArizona
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To: Jigsaw John

However, the star is only 1.3% as luminous as the sun. Therefore, it's probably not nearly as hot as you'd think...may well be similar to Earth in temperature.


36 posted on 12/01/2005 2:02:14 PM PST by RockinRight (It’s likely for a Conservative to be a Republican, but not always the other way around)
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