Goodbye Pluto, hello Gliese 581 d and Gliese 581 e.
Gliese
Scientists announced this week that Gliese 581 d, first spotted by astronomers in 2007, could possibly have liquid oceans. Closer examination of the planet’s orbit around this particular galaxy’s “sun,” revealed it to be within what is deemed a habitable range. Originally it was believed to be orbiting further away, producing a cooler landscape and frozen oceans. Newly spotted Gliese 581 e, is much closer, completing it’s orbit in only 3.15, and as such is likely hot, rocky and barren.
Red Dwarf
The “sun” in this instance is a red dwarf star, named Gliese 581, near the Libra constellation. Gliese 581 is referred to as a host star, meaning that it has smaller objects orbiting it. In this case the orbiting objects are Gliese 581 d and Gliese 581 e, which in turn are called exoplanets, as they are planets outside our own Solar System, orbiting a star.
Our own sun, the yang to our moon’s yin, is a yellow dwarf star.
Our Sun
Sun and Red Dwarf photos from NASA
Gliese image from Digitized Sky Survey
