Exoplanets: Gliese 581g

[dewline]

This will hopefully prove out as one of those "Where were you when you heard/saw the news?" events.

Ladies, gentlemen and respected others:

We may indeed have a winner.

Gliese 581g

http://news.ucsc.edu/2010/09/planet.html

http://keckobservatory.org/news/keck_observatory_discovers_the_first_goldilocks_exoplanet/

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/09/29/science-habitable-exoplanet-gliese.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581_g

For deeper background:

http://oklo.org/tag/gliese-581/

Comments

[duncanmac.livejournal.com]

I hope you'll forgive my skepticism, but a "tidally-locked" planet is not likely to be truly habitable. The fact that it is so close to its parent (Class M) star reflects the fact that the star itself is rather weak (and Class M stars are very common indeed) and explains the tidal locking.

Another sticking point is that Class M stars tend to be not fully stable, perhaps due to their internal configuration. I have seen reports stating that they can have sudden, powerful flares that will fry most planets around them that aren't too far away -- and therefore frozen.

It would be nice if I am wrong, but the planet probably needs to be "terraformed" to live there -- a task we aren't equipped yet to undertake.

Just my $0.02 ...

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Skepticism is understandable, particularly given the points you raise. I'm guessing that if there is a viable atmosphere and potable water on such a world as you - and others I've been reading - suspect to be tidally locked, it's likely in the planet's "interface" zone.

(I'm giving thanks to the people who put the role-playing game 2300/2320 AD together for teaching me some of what I know of the concept of tidally locked worlds.)

[quietdarkness.livejournal.com]

This is exciting! We may need that world some day.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Keeping Duncan's caveats firmly in mind as we keep at least some of our telescopes locked onto it, you may be right.