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About The New Planet - Gliese 581 c |
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Posted by Julia
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For the first time astronomers have discovered (this year - 2007) a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described as a big step in the search for "life in the universe."
The planet is just the right size, might have water in liquid form, and in galactic terms is relatively nearby at 120 trillion miles away. But the star it closely orbits, known as a "red dwarf," is much smaller, dimmer and cooler than our sun.
The new planet's star system is a mere 20.5 light years away, making Gliese 581 one of the 100 closest stars to Earth. It's so dim, you can't see it without a telescope, but it's somewhere in the constellation Libra, which is low in the southeastern sky during the midevening in the Northern Hemisphere.
videos:
HemuZ Space Videos
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