Herald Sun 10 november 2012
"A NEWLY discovered alien planet seven times bigger than Earth may be able to support life, astronomers wrote in a study.
The planet, dubbed HD 40307g, is one of only a few to be discovered in the "habitable zone": a sweet spot, neither too close or too far from its sun, where liquid water could exist, the team of international astronomers, led by Mikko Tuomi, University of Hertfordshire, England, and Guillem Anglada-Escude, University of Goettingen, Germany, wrote in the journal, Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The so-called "super-Earth" orbits its star - HD 40307, a dwarf just slightly smaller, cooler and less bright than our sun - every 200 days.
It is relatively close to the solar-system neighbourhood, just 42 light years away. A light year is equivalent to about 9460 billion kilometres.
"The star HD 40307 is a perfectly quiet old dwarf star, so there is no reason why such a planet could not sustain an Earth-like climate,'' said astronomer Guillem Anglada-Escude of the University of Goettingen in Germany.
The next step is to use powerful telescopes to study the planet more closely.
A large number of observations will be necessary to confirm any other similarities with Earth, the astronomers said.
The study noted that the distance between the planet and its star is similar to that between the Earth and the sun and that it is likely the planet rotates on its axis, which would create a day and night cycle like ours.
So far, some 846 planets have been found outside our solar system since 1995, using high-powered equipment, most notably the Kepler telescope, launched in March 2009 to search for Earth-like planets.
Most of the discoveries are of planets far larger than Earth."
The Daily Telegraph2012-11-08: A ''super-Earth'' that could have a life-supporting climate has been discovered in a multi-world solar system 42 light years from the Sun. Photo: Nasa 1:04PM GMT 08 Nov 2012 A ''super-Earth'' that could have a life-supporting climate has been discovered in a multi-world solar system 42 light years from the Sun. The planet, which is several times more massive than the Earth, lies just the right distance from its star to allow the existence of liquid surface water. It orbits well within the star's ''habitable'' or ''Goldilocks'' zone - the region where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold to sustain life.... more »
US News Planet could be close enough to observe with conventional telescopes Scientists say they've detected a planet that could have life just 42 light-years from earth—close enough so that astronomers might someday be able to directly observe it through a telescope. [READ: NASA Observes Record-Setting Gas Storm on Saturn] The "super Earth" is about seven times...
Newstrack India Tweet Washington, November 8 (ANI): A new super-Earth planet that may have an Earth-like climate and be just right to support life has been discovered around a nearby star. An international team of astronomers led by Mikko Tuomi, University of Hertfordshire, and Guillem Anglada-Escude, University of Goettingen made the discovery. The new super-Earth planet exists in the...
PhysOrg HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) on ESO's La Silla 3.6m telescope is a dedicated exoplanet hunter, able to detect the oh-so-slight wobble of a star caused by the gravitational tug of orbiting planets. Led by Mikko Tuomi of the UK's University of Hertfordshire Centre for Astrophysics Research, a team of researchers reviewed publicly-available data from HARPS...
The Hindu Astronomers have discovered a new super-Earth planet around a nearby star that may have an Earth-like climate and be just right to support life. The new planet exists in the habitable zone of a nearby star and is part of a six-planet system. The system was previously thought to contain three planets in orbits too close to the star to support liquid water. By avoiding fake...
CNET You may think this planet is overpopulated or you may just be sick of the partisan politics. In either case, HD 40307g is an attractive getaway. by Less than 100 light years away, the new super-Earth could have fantastic beachfront properties. (Credit: Video screenshot by Tim Hornyak/CNET) It's only 42 light years away, it could have liquid water, and it's more than seven times...
The Daily Telegraph A young “homeless planet”, up to seven times the size of Jupiter and with no gravitational ties, has been spotted by scientists for the very first time. This Nasa illustration shows at night just before the predicted merger between our Milky Way galaxy and the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy, which is expected to happen about 3.75 billion years from now Photo:...
Zeenews London: Astronomers have discovered a new super-Earth planet around a nearby star that may have an Earth-like climate and be just right to support life. The new planet exists in the habitable zone of a nearby star and is part of a six-planet system. The system was previously thought to contain three planets in orbits too close to the star to support liquid water. By avoiding...
Belfast Telegraph A ‘super-Earth’ that could have a life-supporting climate has been discovered in a multi-world solar system 42 light years from the Sun. The planet, which is several times more massive...
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