Gliese 581 c
Astronomers have discovered what is possibly an extrasolar planet within the inhabitable zone (the distance from a star far enough away to provide a temperature between the boiling and freezing point for water) of Gliese 581, a star about 20 lightyears away in the constellation Libra.
Wow. How come I am always the last to hear about these things?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18293978/
Gliese 581 C is the smallest extrasolar planet, or “exoplanet,” discovered to date. It is located about 15 times closer to its star than Earth is to the sun; one year on the planet is equal to 13 Earth days. Because red dwarfs, also known as M dwarfs, are about 50 times dimmer than the sun and much cooler, their planets can orbit much closer to them while still remaining within their habitable zones the spherical region around a star within which a planet’s temperature can sustain liquid water on its surface.
The new Age of Discovery is coming, friends. Bank on it. Now if we only had a working Orion drive, we could dispatch an expedition.
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
