Habitable planet discovered...

[SilentP]

Looking at the BBC article about this planet (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11444022) some of the facts together seem to make little sense to me, these being:
-The planet completes it's solar orbit in 37 days

And

-It's average surface temperature is between 12C and -31C

Now, I know that it's a tidally locked planet, so it has massive extremes that can be averaged out to a sane figure in the range above, but doesn't such a short orbit completion time imply it orbits very closely to it's star, akin to a Mercury orbit, and thusly potentially metal scorching hot? Or is the star relatively 'cold' in comparison to Sol? Or am I missing something?

 

[sevenstars]

...relatively 'cold' in comparison to Sol?

According to the articles the star is a red dwarf.

 

[Gepard]

Now, I know that it's a tidally locked planet, so it has massive extremes that can be averaged out to a sane figure in the range above, but doesn't such a short orbit completion time imply it orbits very closely to it's star, akin to a Mercury orbit, and thusly potentially metal scorching hot? Or is the star relatively 'cold' in comparison to Sol? Or am I missing something?

Gliese 581 is a red dwarf star, which are the smallest and coldest stars out there (barring brown dwarfs, which are so small they can't ignite nuclear fusion). In other words, this planet is orbiting a star so small it's almost not a star any more.

 

[SilentP]

That would explain it Is the size of the star (and it's proximity) perhaps why it was easy to detect a relatively small planet (considering the majority of stars detected are Jupiter size)? Or should we also be including advances made in planet detection techniques?

This discovery is promising, whether or not this particular planet ends up being viable, though. The more M class planets that are discovered (especially close to Sol), the easier it'll be to get the public behind any efforts for technologies to reach said planets.

 

[Deckerd]

That would explain it Is the size of the star (and it's proximity) perhaps why it was easy to detect a relatively small planet (considering the majority of stars detected are Jupiter size)? Or should we also be including advances made in planet detection techniques?

This discovery is promising, whether or not this particular planet ends up being viable, though. The more M class planets that are discovered (especially close to Sol), the easier it'll be to get the public behind any efforts for technologies to reach said planets.

Sure, until they find out that those who set out will never live long enough to see the destination and they will be committing their progeny to the enterprise without them even being born yet.

 

[SilentP]

'Easier' not 'easy'

 

[Shatnertage]

Do real scientists have a name for what ST calls M-class planets, besides, "potentially habitable, vaguely Earth-like planets?"

Just curious.

 

[sevenstars]

M class planets: One of the articles did point out that "habitable" meant "habitable by something," not necessarily "habitable by humans"...