"Super-Earth" Discovered

[Katie Reynolds]

In a discovery that has left one expert stunned, European astronomers have found one of the smallest planets known outside our solar system, a world about 14 times the mass of our own around a star much like the sun.

It could be a rocky planet with a thin atmosphere, a sort of "super Earth," the researchers said today.

But this is no typical Earth. It completes its tight orbit in less than 10 days, compared to the 365 required for our year. Its daytime face would be scorched.

The planet's surface conditions aren't known, said Portuguese researcher Nuno Santos, who led the discovery. "However, we can expect it to be quite hot, given the proximity to the star."

Hot as in around 1,160 degrees Fahrenheit (900 Kelvin), Santos said.

Still, the discovery is a significant advance in technology: No planet so small has ever been detected around a normal star. And the finding reveals a solar system more similar to our own than anything found so far.

Read more at: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/0...net/index.html

[Jeff Rodriguez]

If it orbits much faster and is allot hotter than here, why is it called super-earth? Why not super-mercury?

[811SmallFry]

Probably because it has an atmosphere- I didn't read the article yet, but our atmosphere is incredibly unique- we are the only planet in our solar system with a life-sustaining atmosphere. This planet also has an atmosphere, causing people to compare the two planets.

[Marc P.]

I think the greater significance is that it's one of, if not the first discovery of a planet outside our solar system that is not a gas giant like Jupiter. From what I've been reading about it, it's a rocky planet scientists think didn't gain enough mass to become a gas giant, which may give clues to how other planets form, including our own.

[Wetzel]

Originally Posted by 811SmallFry

Probably because it has an atmosphere- I didn't read the article yet, but our atmosphere is incredibly unique- we are the only planet in our solar system with a life-sustaining atmosphere. This planet also has an atmosphere, causing people to compare the two planets.

As far as we know, Earth is the only planet in our solar system with an atmosphere capable of supporting life as we know it.

The life around undersea geothermal vents was inconceivable. Until they found it.


Wetzel

[Adam Y.]

The life around undersea geothermal vents was inconceivable. Until they found it.

It actually was conceivable since they had all ready found life on ground that relied on geothermal vents. It was the discovery of microorgansms in Yellostone that first hinted at life in really nasty situations. Nobody ever expected to find any life in the 100C water. Today the little buggers are used to make sugar for soda pop and to replicate DNA.ThermophilesNasa article on Yellowstone

[Code\\Pilot]

ehh... just one thing to say....
God created earth...
yeah...
that is about it.
Bye.

[Alan Anderson]

It could be a rocky planet with a thin atmosphere, a sort of "super Earth," the researchers said today.

Or it could be the remains of a gas giant that's had most of its gas "cooked" away by the nearby star. Everything except its mass and orbital period is speculation.