Space & Astronomy

Giant habitable exoplanet discovered

By T.K. Randall
November 8, 2012 ·  25 comments

Image Credit: NASA The dwarf star known as HD 40307 is located 42 light years away and is home to at least six large planets including a terrestrial world which is believed to be at the right distance from its star to fall in to the 'Goldilocks zone' where liquid water can exist. This new world is approximately seven times the size of the Earth and has an orbital period of 320 days.

Unfortunately due to the distance of the star and the difficulties inherent in learning more about its planets it will be very difficult to determine anything more about the discovery. "We have no explicit follow-up planned, thought the HARPS team is probably still gathering more data, and may in the future be able to confirm these results, and perhaps add even more planets to the brood," said astronomer Steven Vogt.[!gad]The dwarf star known as HD 40307 is located 42 light years away and is home to at least six large planets including a terrestrial world which is believed to be at the right distance from its star to fall in to the 'Goldilocks zone' where liquid water can exist. This new world is approximately seven times the size of the Earth and has an orbital period of 320 days.

Unfortunately due to the distance of the star and the difficulties inherent in learning more about its planets it will be very difficult to determine anything more about the discovery. "We have no explicit follow-up planned, thought the HARPS team is probably still gathering more data, and may in the future be able to confirm these results, and perhaps add even more planets to the brood," said astronomer Steven Vogt.

Source: Discovery News | Comments (25)

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