This newly found most earthlike planet has the key ingredient of life, the liquid water. This exoplanet (extrasolar planet) is located at the “Goldilocks” position (not too far and not too close to its star) that the water on this planet can be in the form of liquid state. This exoplanet is named Gliese 581 C after its star, Gliese 581.
Gliese 581 C is either a rocky planet or a oceans dominated world. Its mass is 5.1x that of Earth and its radius is 50% greater than of Earth, results in 3.4x of Earth’s volume. It has a gravity of 2.2x that of Earth. The temperature of the planet is estimated between 0ºC to 40ºC. It won’t be our new home in 50 to 100 years time as the distance between Gliese 581 C and Earth is 20.5ly (120 trillion km).
How’s this earthlike planet discovered?
The scientists discovered the new world using the HARP instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope in La Sille, Chile. They employed the so-called radial velocity, or “wobble,†technique, in which the size and mass of a planet are determined based on small perturbations it induces in its parent star’s orbit via gravity.
Almost everyone of us will ask is there any life on this planet? The extraterrestial life is unconfirmed yet but we’ll know after some days. When the new Allen Telescope Array begins to operate, Gliese 581 C might be looked again.
More information on Gliese 581 C can be located at Wikipedia.
