An astronomer who helped discover the first potentially habitable planet outside our solar system says there's lots more where that came from.
"This is just the first discovery," said Xavier Delfosse, at
France's Grenoble University. "During the years to come, we will find others."
The important calculation for this planet (blandly dubbed Gliese 581c after its red dwarf star, Gliese 581 -- are there special astronomy rules about planet naming?), he said, is the surface temperature of the planet. The scientists have estimated between freezing and 104 degrees Fahrenheit, but that's based on averages for the entire planet, including the atmosphere. The actual surface temperatures will only be hotter, Delfosse said, and will be determined by the planet's atmosphere.
"We should not jump to fast conclusions," Delfosse said. "We don't know what the surface temperatures are yet."
If the temperatures vary from 50 degrees Fahrenheit to 114 degrees Fahrenheit, which is already hot, then it could support life. But they could be a thousand-fold hotter. Analyses using high-powered telescopes during the years to come should determine a more precise surface temperature, Delfosse said.
A crucial element about today's announcement, he pointed out, is that Gliese 581c has a rocky land mass, as opposed to being composed of a gaseous netherworld.
Text by Bruce Gain.
Image credit: CNRS
