A new planet has been identified that just might be habitable by future humans.
"This really is the first Goldilocks planet," said co-discoverer R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, referring to the so called "Goldilocks zone" for life – an area which is not too hot nor too cold, but "just right," and make a “very compelling case for a potentially habitable planet."
The planet is neither too close nor too far to its equivalent of the sun, so that it might contain water. Its size, neither too big nor too small, also suggests proper surface, gravity and atmosphere for life to thrive.
The planet is currently called Gliese 581g, as it is the sixth planet revolving around the star Gliese 581 (with the star itself designated "a").
"It's not a very interesting name and it's a beautiful planet," said co-discoverer Steven Vogt, of the University of California in Santa Cruz.
"I call it Zarmina's World," he added, after his wife.
There are some distinct differences between Gliese 581g and Earth. It is about three times the mass of Earth and is 14 million miles away from its star (as opposed to 93 million miles between the Earth and sun), so that it completes a full orbit in around 37 days.
In addition, it does not seem to revolve much so that one side of the planet is perpetually at night, and the other is constantly in the daytime.
Vogt and Butler are set to publish their findings in the Astrophysical Journal.
Life on Gliese 581g?
Gliese 581g is 120 trillion miles away from Earth so that travelling to it would take generations.
On a cosmic scale, however, Vogt describes the planet as being "like right in our face, right next door to us.”
Vogt added that he believes "that chances for life on this planet are 100%” due to its Goldilocks conditions, although it remains to be seen what kind of life populates this alien world.
"The fact that we were able to detect this planet so quickly and so nearby tells us that planets like this must be really common,” he added.
http://www.thepoc.net/breaking-news/breaking-stories/9815-new-planet-that-might-support-human-life-discovered.html
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