| An earth sized planet recently discovered orbiting around the star Gliese 581 probably can't support life. However, another planet in the same solar system might.
Earth-like planet may be 'too hot' for life German and American scientists have announced that the recently discovered planet, Gliese 581c, is too hot to host any life that would be found on Earth. It orbits around the star Gliese 581. "It’s just too hot. I would not recommend mankind to move to that planet right now," said Dr. Manfred Cuntz, a Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research astronomer who was part of the study. He also said that the same system that Gliese 581c is in may have another planet that could be comfortable for humans.
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Artist's impression of the planetary system around the red dwarf Gliese 581. Using the instrument HARPS on the ESO 3.6-m telescope, astronomers have uncovered 3 planets, all of relative low-mass: 5, 8 and 15 Earth masses. The five Earth-mass planet (seen in foreground - Gliese 581 c) makes a full orbit around the star in 13 days, the other two in 5 (the blue, Neptunian-like planet - Gliese 581 b) and 84 days (the most remote one, Gliese 581 d). - Photo ©ESO
The planet, Gliese 581d, orbits the same star as Gliese 581c but at a distance of 23 million miles. Researchers say that the planet could have a "greenhouse" effect, which would warm the planet enough so that any water on the planet would be liquid. If no greenhouse effect is present, the planet would have frozen water.
"We cannot cool down an atmosphere of a planet, but we can heat it up. Despite the adverse conditions of this planet, at least some primitive forms of life may be able to exist on its surface," said Cuntz.
Some scientists disagree and say that Gliese 581 is a very old star and that its light is dimmer than that of a newer star.
Scientists began to monitor Gliese 581c right after the announcement of its discovery in April, for six weeks, using the Canadian Space Agency's Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) space telescope.
"Gliese 581 seems remarkably stable over the six weeks it was monitored by MOST," said Jaymie Matthews, an astronomer at the University of British Columbia. "The brightness of the star changed by only a few tenths of a percent over that time. This level of stability means that it provides a stable source of light, hence heat, to the surface of planet Gliese 581c. The climate there should not be a wild rollercoaster ride that would make it difficult for life to get a foothold."
Matthews says that Gliese 581 is much older than the Sun and Earth and that life could have already evolved on the surface of the planet.
"So if Gliese 581 has been around for at least that long, it’s more encouraging for the prospects of complex life on any planet around it," added Matthews.
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