First life-friendly exoplanet may not exist after all - space - 03 July 2014. Type the name "Gliese 581 d" into a search engine, and you'll find hundreds of tantalising images of an Earth-like world. The exoplanet has been a top contender for the most life-friendly world beyond our solar system since it was discovered in 2007. There's just one problem – it probably doesn't exist. New analysis of the Gliese 581 star system suggests that signals previously attributed to two of its six suspected planets actually come from sunspot-like regions on the star itself.
The same analysis builds support that three of the other four planets are real, but none of these worlds would be able to support life as we know it. Several promising exoplanets have been cast into doubt in the past. The gassy giant Fomalhaut b, for instance, was hailed as one of the first exoplanets to have its picture taken – but it may be nothing more than a blob of dust.
Magnetic illusion Gliese 581 is a red dwarf star about 20 light years from Earth. Lost worlds More From New Scientist More from the web. Super-Earth Gliese 1214b Has Water-Rich Atmosphere, Japanese Astronomers Say | Astronomy. Astronomers from Japan using NAOJ’s Subaru Telescope have found that the extrasolar planet Gliese 1214b has a water-rich atmosphere. This artist’s impression shows how Gliese 1214b may look as it transits its parent star. Image credit: NAOJ. Discovered in 2009 by the MEarth Project, this alien world is about 2.7 times Earth’s diameter and is almost 7 times as massive. It is located 42 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus. Dr Michitoshi Yoshida of Hiroshima University and his colleagues used the Suprime-Cam and the FOCAS optical camera aboard the Subaru Telescope to look for the Rayleigh scattering feature in the atmosphere of Gliese 1214b. The new observations, reported in the Astrophysical Journal (arXiv.org), showed that the exoplanet’s atmosphere does not display strong Rayleigh scattering.
According to the astronomers, this finding implies that Gliese 1214b has a water-rich or a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere with extensive clouds. Update on Gliese 581d’s Habitability. Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter An artist’s impression of Gliese 581d, an exoplanet about 20.3 light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Libra. When last we checked in on Gliese 581d, a team from the University of Paris had suggested that the popular exoplanet, Gliese 581d may be habitable. This super-Earth found itself just on the edge of the Goldilocks zone which could make liquid water present on the surface under the right atmospheric conditions.
However, the team’s work was based on one dimensional simulations of a column of hypothetical atmospheres on the day side of the planet. To have a better understanding of what Gliese 581d might be like, a three dimensional simulation was in order. The new investigation was called for because Gliese 581d is suspected to be tidally locked, much like Mercury is in our own solar system. In other simulations, the team added in oceans of liquid water which would help to moderate the climate. Gliese 581d: An Exoplanet Fit for Humans? — Gliese 581d is the fourth exoplanet to be discovered orbiting a red dwarf star called Gliese 581. — Astronomers have calculated the world orbits within the star's habitable zone. — Although it might be suitable for human habitation in the future, we would need a breakthrough in propulsion technology to get there.
A rocky world orbiting a nearby star has been confirmed as the first planet outside our solar system to meet key requirements for sustaining life, scientists said on Monday. Modeling of planet Gliese 581d shows it has the potential to be warm and wet enough to nurture Earth-like life, they said. NEWS: Brown Dwarf Exoplanet Identified It orbits a red dwarf star called Gliese 581, located around 20 light years from Earth, which makes it one of our closest neighbors.
Gliese 581d orbits on the outer fringes of the star's "Goldilocks zone", where it is not so hot that water boils away, nor so cold that water is perpetually frozen. NEWS: Unlikely Planets Found in Violent Star Cluster. 1328 - Three Planets in Habitable Zone of Nearby Star. Eso1328 — Science Release Gliese 667C reexamined 25 June 2013 A team of astronomers has combined new observations of Gliese 667C with existing data from HARPS at ESO’s 3.6-metre telescope in Chile, to reveal a system with at least six planets. A record-breaking three of these planets are super-Earths lying in the zone around the star where liquid water could exist, making them possible candidates for the presence of life. This is the first system found with a fully packed habitable zone. Gliese 667C is a very well-studied star. Just over one third of the mass of the Sun, it is part of a triple star system known as Gliese 667 (also referred to as GJ 667), 22 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion).
Previous studies of Gliese 667C had found that the star hosts three planets (eso0939, eso1214) with one of them in the habitable zone. These planets orbit the third fainter star of a triple star system. Notes More information The team is composed of G. Links Contacts. Scientists Discover Nearby Star Is Harboring Not 1 or 2 but 3 'Super Earths' That Could Support Life. Planetary Habitability Laboratory Twenty-two light years away in the direction of the constellation Scorpius lies a system of three stars known as Gliese 667.
Today, scientists have announced that a close examination of one of those stars, Gliese 667C, has revealed a solar system simply loaded with planets, with six or possibly seven planets, three of which orbit within the star's habitable zone -- the not-too-close-not-too-far region that could potentially sustain liquid water. A diagram showing the locations of the six, possibly seven, planets orbiting Gliese 667C. Planet Gliese 667C h is still unconfirmed. (ESO) In April, NASA announced the discovery of two planets in the habitable zone of another star, Kepler 62, but Gliese 667C is the first star known to tally up three. That is the moment we live in -- one in which we can begin to ask not whether something is out there, but whether we might actually be able to find it.
Do more planets mean that life is out there? New Earth-like planet discovered | Science. Astronomers have discovered a potentially habitable planet of similar size to Earth in orbit around a nearby star. A team of planet hunters spotted the alien world circling a red dwarf star called Gliese 581, 20 light years away. The planet is in the "Goldilocks zone" of space around a star where surface temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to form. "Our findings offer a very compelling case for a potentially habitable planet," said Steven Vogt, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "The fact that we were able to detect this planet so quickly and so nearby tells us that planets like this must be really common.
" If confirmed, the planet would be the most Earth-like that has ever been discovered in another solar system and the first strong contender for a habitable one. More than 400 exoplanets have been discovered by astronomers, but most are gas giants, like Jupiter, that would be inhospitable to life as we know it. Alien World Tour: The Exoplanets Around Star Gliese 581. The announcement Wednesday (Sept. 29) of two newfound alien planets circling the star Gliese 581 adds to the nearby solar system's intrigue, further cementing its status as a top candidate to harbor extraterrestrial life. One of the two newly discovered planets, known as Gliese 581g, is a small, Earth-like world that likely lies within its star's habitable zone ?
The just-right range of distances that allow liquid water to exist. [Artist's conception of Gliese 581g.] Astronomers have now detected six planets orbiting Gliese 581, the most known to circle any star beyond our own sun. Here's a brief tour of the star and its planets, from the inside out: Gliese 581: the mother star Gliese 581 is a red dwarf located 20.5 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Libra.
Nearest planet The nearest planet to the star is Gliese 581e, a rocky world nearly twice as massive as Earth. Gliese 581e is extremely close to its parent star ? Next up: Gliese 581b Rocky world in third Gliese 581c comes next. 202: The Planets at Gliese 581. Transcript: The Planets at Gliese 581 Download the transcript Fraser: Astronomy Cast Episode 202 for Monday October 11, 2010, The Planets at Gliese 581. Welcome to Astronomy Cast, our weekly facts-based journey through the cosmos, where we help you understand not only what we know, but how we know what we know.
My name is Fraser Cain, I’m the publisher of Universe Today, and with me is Dr. Pamela: I’m doing well. Fraser: I’m doing really well. Pamela: Well, this is a star that has been studied for a long time for a lot of fairly straightforward reasons. Fraser: So that was the first planet discovered around the star. Pamela: That was the very first planet. Fraser: But this was just the beginning. Pamela: It was.
Fraser: Just for people to appreciate how complicated this is… the astronomers are using the radial velocity method, as we mentioned. Pamela: And this is luckily a star that’s at least doing most of its back and forth movement on a fairly short period. Pamela: Right. Fraser: Right. A Million Questions About Habitable Planet Gliese 581g (Okay, 12) A newfound Earth-sized planet discovered in the habitable zone of a nearby star looks very promising for the possibility of extraterrestrial life, but many unknowns remain. The planet, Gliese 581g, is one of two new worlds discovered orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581, which now has a family of planets that totals six.
[Tour the six Gliese 581 planets.] Here is SPACE.com's look at what scientists know so far about the intriguing world, as well as a few questions that don't quite have answers yet. Consider it a new entry into Earth's own hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy: How do I say the planet? S name? Gliese 581g may look like it should rhyme with "Grease," but it is actually pronounced as two-syllables as (Glee-zuh). Where is Gliese 581g? The planet Gliese 581g orbits the red dwarf star Gliese 581, which sits 20 light-years from Earth in the constellation Libra.
How far is it from the parent star? Early estimates suggest Gliese 581g is 0.15 astronomical units from its star. Why doesn? And NSF-Funded Research Finds First Potentially Habitable Exoplanet. NASA and NSF-Funded Research Finds First Potentially Habitable Exoplanet A team of planet hunters from the University of California (UC) Santa Cruz, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington has announced the discovery of a planet with three times the mass of Earth orbiting a nearby star at a distance that places it squarely in the middle of the star's "habitable zone.
" This discovery was the result of more than a decade of observations using the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, one of the world's largest optical telescopes. The research, sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation, placed the planet in an area where liquid water could exist on the planet's surface.
If confirmed, this would be the most Earth-like exoplanet yet discovered and the first strong case for a potentially habitable one. To astronomers, a "potentially habitable" planet is one that could sustain life, not necessarily one where humans would thrive. Related Links: Gliese 581g, a new planet like Earth: Could humans live there? An Earth-size planet has been spotted orbiting a nearby star at a distance that would make it not too hot and not too cold — comfortable enough for life to exist, researchers announced Wednesday, Sept. 29.
Skip to next paragraph Subscribe Today to the Monitor Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS ofThe Christian Science MonitorWeekly Digital Edition If confirmed, the exoplanet, named Gliese 581g, would be the first Earth-like world found residing in a star's habitable zone — a region where a planet's temperature could sustain liquid water on its surface.
And the planet's discoverers are optimistic about the prospects for finding life there. "Personally, given the ubiquity and propensity of life to flourish wherever it can, I would say, my own personal feeling is that the chances of life on this planet are 100 percent," said Steven Vogt, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, during a press briefing today. IN PICTURES: Planets Stellar tugs. Another Potentially Habitable World Emerges.