First habitable exoplanet confirmed

Gliese 581d is the outlying planet in the Gliese 581 system, and orbits its parent star every 66.8 days. It may be covered by a large and deep ocean and is the first serious 'waterworld' candidate discovered beyond our Solar System. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada PARIS: A rocky world orbiting a nearby star was confirmed as the first planet outside our Solar System to meet key requirements for sustaining life. Modelling of planet Gliese 581d shows it has the potential to be warm and wet enough to nurture Earth-like life, scientists have said. 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. Zarmina’s World “With a dense carbon dioxide atmosphere – a likely scenario on such a large planet – the climate of Gliese 581d is not only stable against collapse but warm enough to have oceans, clouds and rainfall,” France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said. with Cosmos Online

Earths True Shape Revealed for 1st Time After two years in orbit, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) is nearing the end of its planned life span in February, producing the most accurate map ever of the so-called geoid -- an Earth-encompassing spirit level and global reference surface. An unused supply of xeon fuel will allow the mission to be extended until at least the end of 2012. Markedly different from a simple sphere or ellipsoid, the geoid is the mathematically 'true' shape of Earth. It represents a motionless global ocean but takes into account the effects of the Earth’s rotation, weight difference resulting from the position of mountains and ocean trenches, and uneven mass distribution and density variations in the planet’s interior. The resulting small variations in the Earth’s gravitational field feature on the geoid as ‘bulbs’ and ‘dips’ in an idealized ‘ocean’ surface. The Daily Galaxy via ESA

Two Suns? Twin Stars Could Be Visible From Earth By 2012 By Dean Praetorius | HuffingtonPost.com Earth could be getting a second sun, at least temporarily. Dr. When that happens, for at least a few weeks, we’d see a second sun, Carter says. The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says... or it could take longer. But doomsday sayers should be careful about speculation on this one. In fact, a neutrino shower could be beneficial to Earth. UPDATE: To clarify, the news.com.au article does not say a neutrino shower could be beneficial to Earth, but implies a supernova could be beneficial, stating, "Far from being a sign of the apocalypse, according to Dr Carter the supernova will provide Earth with elements necessary for survival and continuity." UPDATE II: In a follow-up piece on news.com.au, Dr. Article from: huffingtonpost.com Top Image: Source Tune Into Related Red Ice Radio Programs: Alex Putney - Messages of Resonance Change in 2012, Betelgeuse & Modern Alchemy Will Hart - Solar Flare Apocalypse & Comets