New Earths ????
Planet hunters have found two worlds roughly the mass of Neptune, each orbiting a star within 30 light-years of our solar system. The planets are likely gaseous or mixtures of ice and rock, but they might be barren rock worlds like Mercury.
Tuesday's announcement by a U.S. team comes just a week after a competing European group revealed a similar discovery of a slightly less massive planet that most likely has a rocky surface and was billed as a "super Earth."
Tuesday's announcement by a U.S. team comes just a week after a competing European group revealed a similar discovery of a slightly less massive planet that most likely has a rocky surface and was billed as a "super Earth."
One of the planets orbits the star 55 Cancri, already known to harbor three gas giant planets. Its fourth known world is 18 times as massive as Earth, just slightly more massive than Neptune.It completes a year in a mere 2.81 Earth-days, circling just 3.5 million miles (5.7 million kilometers) from the star.
The other newest known planet is about 25 times as hefty as Earth. Its circular orbit is tight, too, a mere 2.64 Earth-days long, around the star Gliese 436.
The other newest known planet is about 25 times as hefty as Earth. Its circular orbit is tight, too, a mere 2.64 Earth-days long, around the star Gliese 436.
Excogitated by a_beautifulmind @ 11:16 AM
2 Voiced their opinions :
Whoa, thanks for that post!
You have no idea how much I enjoy reading such information, especially if it is readily available.
Awesome stuff! (Super Earth's 10-day year is incredible)
Joe,hope u have followed the link super earth,look for "Alien Worlds through Artist's Eyes" on the page thru that link.Its superb!!
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