Billy
10th May 2012, 15:53
Light From Super Earth 55 Cancri E Detected, An Astronomical First
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/light-super-earth-55-cancri-e-first_n_1502477.html
By: Tariq Malik
Published: 05/08/2012 05:59 PM EDT on SPACE.com
Light from an alien "super-Earth" twice the size of our own Earth has been detected by a NASA space telescope for the first time in what astronomers are calling a historic achievement.
NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope spotted light from the alien planet 55 Cancri e, which orbits a star 41 light-years from Earth. A year on the extrasolar planet lasts just 18 hours.
The planet 55 Cancri e was first discovered in 2004 and is not a habitable world. Instead, it is known as a super-Earth because of its size: The world is about twice the width of Earth and is super-dense, with about eight times the mass of Earth.
Read more and listen to video here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/light-super-earth-55-cancri-e-first_n_1502477.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/light-super-earth-55-cancri-e-first_n_1502477.html
By: Tariq Malik
Published: 05/08/2012 05:59 PM EDT on SPACE.com
Light from an alien "super-Earth" twice the size of our own Earth has been detected by a NASA space telescope for the first time in what astronomers are calling a historic achievement.
NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope spotted light from the alien planet 55 Cancri e, which orbits a star 41 light-years from Earth. A year on the extrasolar planet lasts just 18 hours.
The planet 55 Cancri e was first discovered in 2004 and is not a habitable world. Instead, it is known as a super-Earth because of its size: The world is about twice the width of Earth and is super-dense, with about eight times the mass of Earth.
Read more and listen to video here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/light-super-earth-55-cancri-e-first_n_1502477.html