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Posted by Darrell Lakin on August 9, 2007, 1:23 pm
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There is now evidence of Jupiter type or Neptune type of planet that
has had its core exposed from a nova or red giant expansion. If true,
this type of exposed core planet has no corollary in our solar
system. A completely new type of planet
Consider the following news story:
The first habitable planet similar in size and conditions to Earth has
been
located in a distant solar system, once again raising the possibility
of life on
other planets, scientists said on Wednesday.
The as-yet unnamed planet is only about one-and-a-half times the size
of Earth
and five times more massive, a team of European astronomers announced
at the
European Southern Observatory in Garching, Germany.
"We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies
between
zero and 40 degrees Celsius, and water would thus be liquid," said
Stephane Udry
of the Geneva Observatory. "Models predict that the planet should be
either
rocky like our Earth or covered with oceans."
The planet is located around a star known as the Gliese 581, about
20.5 light
years from Earth's solar system and one of the 100 closest stars to
the Sun.
Though the planet is much closer to its star than earth is to the
Sun,
conditions are similar because the Gliese 581, known as a red dwarf,
is smaller
and colder. One year lasts only 13 days on the planet.
"Red dwarfs are ideal targets for the search for such planets because
they emit
less light, and the habitable zone is thus much closer to them than it
is around
the Sun," said Xavier Bonfils of Lisbon University.
More than 200 so-called exoplanets - planets outside of the Sun's
solar system -
have been discovered in the past 12 years since the first one was
found. Most
are massive bowls of gas similar to Jupiter.
The same team of astronauts discovered another planet around the same
red dwarf
two years ago - a Neptune-sized planet about 15 times as massive as
Earth. An
extensive analysis of the latest find is to be revealed in the journal
Astronomy
and Astrophysics.
Xavier Delfosse of Grenoble University in France said the newfound
planet could
inhabit life and will definitely be a target of future space missions
to find
extra-terrestrial beings.
"Liquid water is critical to life as we know it," he said. "On the
treasure map
of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X."
Darrell Lakin
3174 South Shore Drive
Smithfield, VA
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