M
Mike Wehner
Guest
Earth is great, but what if it were bigger? So-called "super-Earths" are rocky worlds like our own but are several times bigger, and could offer us a new home if we ever were to leave our solar system. Some of the super-Earths that scientists have discovered are too far away from their star to be warm enough for liquid water, so those are a no-go. Some are within or near the habitable zone, which is great news for us, but the vast majority of those are too distant to consider visiting right now. A newly-discovered super-Earth around the star GJ-740 is special because it's very close to Earth, relatively speaking — only 36 light-years — but there's another problem. It's very, very hot.
The planet is estimated to be around three times as massive as Earth. That's a sizeable chunk of rock, and it's orbiting a star that is much cooler than our own Sun. GJ-740 is a red dwarf, meaning that its peak temperature is thousands of degrees cooler than our own Sun. Unfortunately, the planet is incredibly close to its star, canceling most of the benefits of orbiting a cooler star and ensuring that the super-Earth's surface is still very, very warm.
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This ‘super-Earth’ seems lovely, until you look up originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 19 Apr 2021 at 17:36:46 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Via BRG - Boy Genius Report