Artist's Impression Of The Gliese 581 System (2009) [720p]

After more than four years of observations using the most successful low-mass-exoplanet hunter in the world, the HARPS spectrograph attached to the 3.6-metre ESO telescope at La Silla, Chile, astronomers discovered the lightest exoplanet found so far. The planet, e, in the famous system Gliese 581, is only about twice the mass of our Earth. The Gliese 581 planetary system now has four known planets, with masses of about 1.9 (planet e), 16 (planet b), 5 (planet c), and 7 Earth-masses (planet d). The planet furthest out, Gliese 581 d, orbits its host star in 66.8 days, while Gliese 581 e completes its orbit in 3.15 days.

credit: ESO / L. Calçada

source: http://www.eso.org/public/videos/eso0915f/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Gliese 581
• Gliese 581 d
• Gliese 581 e
• solar system
• planetary system
• exoplanet

[flybeetle27]

i think the second planet to this star might hold life

[djxatlanta]

@flybeetle27 - Gliese 581b (2nd planet) is a hot gas giant orbiting much too close to its parent star. Such a planet would be tidally locked to Gliese 581 creating tremendous winds in its atmosphere that would disrupt life from developing. Gliese 581c and Gliese 581d (3rd and 4th planets) are more likely to have orbits more conducive to the formation of life.

[mustanglead]

@djxatlanta Looks like you maybe right with the discovery of 581c which is right in the Goldilocks zone. Good video of something I knew nothing about until 20 minutes ago on RT.

[djxatlanta]

@mustanglead - Gliese 581c is actually on the edge of the habitable zone. Gliese 581g -- which was discovered only this year -- is not represented in this video, but it is smack dab in the middle of the zone.

[flybeetle27]

if the parent star is red-orange,than the outer orbits'd be too cold 4 life to exist but idk the third one might be possible

[LebaneseNostalgia]

nice

[WiiForDaWin]

Very Nice!