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Gliese 581 B
Gliese 581b or Gl 581b is an extrasolar planet orbiting within the Gliese 581 system. It is the first planet discovered of three confirmed in the system so far, and the second in order from the star. Discovery The planet was discovered by a team of French and Swiss astronomers, who announced their findings on November 30, 2005, as a discovery of one of the smallest extrasolar planets ever found, with one conclusion being that planets may be more common around the smallest stars. It was the fifth planet found around a red dwarf star (after Gliese 876's planets and Gliese 436, Gliese 436 b). The planet was discovered using the HARPS instrument, with which they found the host star to have a wobble that implied the existence of the planet. The astronomers published their results in ''Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters''. Orbit and mass Gliese 581b is at a minimum, approximately 15.8 times the Earth's mass, similar to Neptune's mass. It does not transit its star, implying that it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomy And Astrophysics Letters
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Chinese, Maya, and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas. In the past, astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calendars. Nowadays, professional a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exoplanets Discovered In 2005
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, initially detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. There are many methods of detecting exoplanets. Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most, but these methods suffer from a clear observational bias favoring the detection of planets near the star; thus, 85% of the exoplanets detected are inside the tidal locking zone. In several cases, multiple planets have been observed around a star. About 1 in 5 Sun-like starsFor the purpose of this 1 in 5 statistic, "Sun-like" means G-type star. Data for Sun-like stars was not available so this statistic is an extrapolation from data about K-type stars. have an "Earth-sized"For the purpose of this 1 in 5 statistic, Earth-sized means 1–2 Earth radii. planet in the habitable zone. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exoplanets In The Gliese Catalog
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, initially detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. There are many methods of detecting exoplanets. Transit (astronomy), Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most, but these methods suffer from a clear observational bias favoring the detection of planets near the star; thus, 85% of the exoplanets detected are inside the tidal locking zone. In several cases, List of multiplanetary systems, multiple planets have been observed around a star. About 1 in 5 Solar analog, Sun-like starsFor the purpose of this 1 in 5 statistic, "Sun-like" means G-type star. Data for Sun-like stars was not available so this statistic is an extrapolation from data about K-type star, K-type stars. have an "Earth-sized"For the purpose of this 1 in 5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Habitability Of Red Dwarf Systems
The habitability of red dwarf systems is presumed to be determined by a large number of factors from a variety of sources. Modern evidence indicates that planets in red dwarf systems are unlikely to be habitable, due to their low stellar flux, high probability of tidal locking, small circumstellar habitable zones and the high stellar variation experienced by planets of red dwarf stars, impeding their planetary habitability. However, the ubiquity and longevity of red dwarfs are factors which could provide ample opportunity for any possibility of habitability to be realized. As red dwarf stars are by far the most common type of star in the universe, astronomers study how each of the many factors, and the interactions among them, could affect their habitability to learn more about the frequency and most likely locations of extraterrestrial life and intelligence. A major impediment to life developing in these systems is the intense tidal heating caused by the proximity of planets t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gliese 581e
Gliese 581e or Gl 581e is an extrasolar planet orbiting within the Gliese 581 system, located approximately 20.4 light-years away from Earth in the Libra constellation. It is the third planet discovered in the system (fourth if the disputed planet candidate Gliese 581d is included) and the first in order from the star. The planet was discovered by an Observatory of Geneva team led by Michel Mayor, using the HARPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory telescope in La Silla, Chile. The discovery was announced on 21 April 2009. Mayor's team employed the radial velocity technique, in which the orbit size and mass of a planet are determined based on the small perturbations it induces in its parent star's orbit via gravity. At a minimum mass of 1.7 Earth masses, it is one of the least massive extrasolar planets discovered around a normal star, and relatively close in mass to Earth. It is also the exoplanet with the smallest accurate true mass known. At an orbital distance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gliese 581c
Gliese 581c (Gl 581c or GJ 581c) is a planet orbiting within the Gliese 581 system. It is the second planet discovered in the system and the third in order from the star. With a mass at least 5.5 times that of the Earth, it is classified as a super-Earth (a category of planets with masses greater than Earth's up to ten Earth masses). Gliese 581c gained interest from astronomers because it was reported to be the first potentially Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of its star, with a temperature right for liquid water on its surface, and, by extension, potentially capable of supporting extremophile forms of Earth-like life. However, further research casts doubt upon the planet's habitability. It is tidally locked (always presents the same face to the object it is orbiting) so if life had a chance to emerge, the best hope of survival would be in the " terminator zone". In astronomical terms, the Gliese 581 system is relatively close to Earth, at in the direction of the cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coronal Mass Ejection
A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the Sun's corona into the heliosphere. CMEs are often associated with solar flares and other forms of solar activity, but a broadly accepted theoretical understanding of these relationships has not been established. If a CME enters interplanetary space, it is referred to as an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME). ICMEs are capable of reaching and colliding with Earth's magnetosphere, where they can cause geomagnetic storms, aurorae, and in rare cases damage to electrical power grids. The largest recorded geomagnetic perturbation, resulting presumably from a CME, was the solar storm of 1859. Also known as the Carrington Event, it disabled parts of the at the time newly created United States telegraph network, starting fires and shocking some telegraph operators. Near solar maxima, the Sun produces about three CMEs every day, whereas near solar minima, there is about ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gliese 876 D
Gliese 876 d is an exoplanet approximately 15 light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius. The planet was the third planet discovered orbiting the red dwarf Gliese 876. It was the lowest-mass extrasolar planet apart from the pulsar planets orbiting PSR B1257+12 at the time of its discovery. Due to this low mass, it can be categorized as a super-Earth. Characteristics Mass, radius, and temperature The mass of Gliese 876 d from radial velocity has one problem, it is that only a lower limit on the mass can be obtained. This is because the measured mass value also depends on the orbital inclination, which in general is unknown. However, models incorporating the gravitational interactions between the resonant outer planets enables the inclination of the orbits to be determined. This reveals that the outer planets are nearly coplanar with an inclination of around 59° with respect to the plane of the sky. Assuming that Gliese 876 d orbits in the same plane as the other planets, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gliese 436 B
Gliese 436 b (sometimes called GJ 436 b) is a Neptune-sized exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf Gliese 436. It was the first hot Neptune discovered with certainty (in 2007) and was among the smallest-known transiting planets in mass and radius, until the much smaller Kepler exoplanet discoveries began circa 2010. In December 2013, NASA reported that clouds may have been detected in the atmosphere of GJ 436 b. In August 2022, this planet and its host star were included among 20 systems to be named by the third NameExoWorlds project. Discovery Gliese 436 b was discovered in August 2004 by R. Paul Butler and Geoffrey Marcy of the Carnegie Institute of Washington and University of California, Berkeley, respectively, using the radial velocity method. Together with 55 Cancri e, it was the first of a new class of planets with a minimum mass (M sin''i'') different to Neptune. The planet was recorded to transit its star by an automatic process at NMSU on January 11 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System and the closest to the Sun. Its orbit around the Sun takes 87.97 Earth days, the shortest of all the Sun's planets. It is named after the Roman god ' ( Mercury), god of commerce, messenger of the gods, and mediator between gods and mortals, corresponding to the Greek god Hermes (). Like Venus, Mercury orbits the Sun within Earth's orbit as an inferior planet, and its apparent distance from the Sun as viewed from Earth never exceeds 28°. This proximity to the Sun means the planet can only be seen near the western horizon after sunset or the eastern horizon before sunrise, usually in twilight. At this time, it may appear as a bright star-like object, but is more difficult to observe than Venus. From Earth, the planet telescopically displays the complete range of phases, similar to Venus and the Moon, which recurs over its synodic period of approximately 116 days. The synodic proximity of Mercury to Earth makes Mercury most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomical Unit
The astronomical unit (symbol: au, or or AU) is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun and approximately equal to or 8.3 light-minutes. The actual distance from Earth to the Sun varies by about 3% as Earth orbits the Sun, from a maximum (aphelion) to a minimum (perihelion) and back again once each year. The astronomical unit was originally conceived as the average of Earth's aphelion and perihelion; however, since 2012 it has been defined as exactly (see below for several conversions). The astronomical unit is used primarily for measuring distances within the Solar System or around other stars. It is also a fundamental component in the definition of another unit of astronomical length, the parsec. History of symbol usage A variety of unit symbols and abbreviations have been in use for the astronomical unit. In a 1976 resolution, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) had used the symbol ''A'' to denote a length equal to the astronomical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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