New planet exists at temp Earth-like ranges

[bryce]

It's a gas giant - but it could potentially support an Earth-like temperate moon...

The big deal though is that unlike other temperate worlds found, this one occults it's star, so can be studied in much more detail than previous Earth-temperature-range worlds...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/new-planet-corot9b-has-earthlike-temperatures-1923217.html

An artist's impression of Corot-9b transit across its sun.

New planet Corot-9b has Earth-like temperatures
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Thursday, 18 March 2010

The first planet with a "temperate" climate to orbit a distant star has been discovered by astronomers, who claim that the techniques used to study it will be critical in the search for Earth-like worlds beyond our own solar system.

Corot-9b, as the planet is called, is one of more than 400 "exoplanets" found to be orbiting other stars, but it is the first one with a near-normal temperature range that can be studied as it moves across (or "transits") the sun it orbits. "This is a normal, temperate exoplanet just like dozens we already know, but this is the first whose properties we can study in depth," said Claire Moutou, one of the team of astronomers at the European Southern Observatory who made the discovery. "It is bound to become a Rosetta stone in exoplanet research."

Corot-9b passes in front of its host star, 1,500 light years away in the constellation Serpens, every 95 days, and the transit lasts about eight hours, which is when astronomers can make measurements of the planet's composition and temperature, estimated to range from minus 20C to 160C.

"Corot-9b is the first exoplanet that really does resemble planets in our solar system," said Hans Deeg, the lead author of the study published in the journal Nature

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...s-1923217.html

 

[Ronald Held]

How close is it to its sun?

 

[Jadzia]

Article says similar distance to Mercury.

 

[publiusr]

I still wonder about 47 Ursae Majoris. It has a Gas Giant a bit bigger than Jupiter at the distance of our asteroid belt from its star--which is brighter than our sun. With a brighter star, a closer, wider Jupiter reflecting a lot of light--I'm wondering if its effective insolation distance could be that of Mars.

 

[Jetfire]

Road trip.