Mountain Vision: Exoplanet Might Support Life (Images, Videos, Audio) * Gliese 581 g: "Goldilocks" planet could be habitable *

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Exoplanet Might Support Life (Images, Videos, Audio) * Gliese 581 g: "Goldilocks" planet could be habitable *

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(L-R) Exoplanet Gliese 581g, sister planet Gliese 581b, and star Gliese (artist's conception)

Exoplanet Might Support Life: "Goldilocks" planet could be habitable

The newly discovered exoplanet Gliese 581g is in the habitable zone of the star Gliese. Gliese 581g is called a "Goldilocks" planet: the location within the habitable zone is "not too hot, not too cold, but just right" to maintain water and Earth-like life.

An imaginary view from Gliese 581g

(NASA Television) A team of planet hunters led by astronomers at the University of California (UC), Santa Cruz and the Carnegie Institution of Washington has announced the discovery of a planet orbiting a nearby star, Gliese 581, at a distance that places it squarely in the middle of the star's "habitable zone." This would be the most Earth-like exoplanet and the first truly habitable one yet discovered. The research was supported by grants from NASA and the National Science Foundation. "Goldilocks" refers to an exoplanet whose temperatures are "not too cold, not too hot, but just right" to maintain water and support Earth-like life.

(MSNBC Dylan Ratigan Show) Dr. John Grunsfeld discusses the planet named "Goldilocks" whose conditions may be "just right" for support life.

(MSNBC) Astronomers have found a new distant planet nicknamed "Goldilocks" which could be capable of supporting life.Derrick Pitts with the Franklin Institute talks with MSNBC's Tamron Hall about the discovery.

(NPR) Gliese 581g, a planet orbiting the dwarf star Gliese in the constellation Libra, is Earth-like in a few key ways. It's not much bigger than Earth, and its temperature seems mild enough for liquid water. Steven Vogt, of the University of California, Santa Cruz, explains how he found the planet.