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n2doc

(47,953 posts)
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 12:29 PM Jun 2014

Gliese 832c: Potentially Habitable Super-Earth Discovered 16 Light-Years Away

Gliese 832, also known as HD 204961 or LHS 3685, is a M1.5 dwarf located in the constellation Grus, about 16 light-years from Earth. It has about half the mass and radius of the Sun.

This star is already known to harbor Gliese 832b, a cold Jupiter-like planet discovered in 2009.

“With an outer giant planet and an interior potentially rocky planet, this planetary system can be thought of as a miniature version of our Solar System,” said Prof Chris Tinney, an astronomer with the University of New South Wales and a co-author of the discovery paper accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (arXiv.org pre-print).



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http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/science-gliese832c-potentially-habitable-super-earth-02029.html

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Gliese 832c: Potentially Habitable Super-Earth Discovered 16 Light-Years Away (Original Post) n2doc Jun 2014 OP
I propose we use solar-sailing methods to send a probe there Ghost Dog Jun 2014 #1
With mass that is 5.4 times that of Earth, Maedhros Jun 2014 #2
Krypton! nt flying rabbit Jun 2014 #3
It may not be too much more muriel_volestrangler Jul 2014 #4
Humans would experience drastic health problems living under constant 2.2 G, though. [n/t] Maedhros Jul 2014 #5
 

Maedhros

(10,007 posts)
2. With mass that is 5.4 times that of Earth,
Mon Jun 30, 2014, 04:29 PM
Jun 2014

I would think the increased gravity would decrease the habitability for humans.

muriel_volestrangler

(101,294 posts)
4. It may not be too much more
Tue Jul 1, 2014, 12:12 PM
Jul 2014

Surface gravity would go up with the cube root of mass, if the average density of a planet is the same - which would be 1.75 time Earth's in this case.

The fact that many large celestial objects are approximately spheres makes it easier to calculate their surface gravity. The gravitational force outside a spherically symmetric body is the same as if its entire mass were concentrated in the center, as was established by Sir Isaac Newton.[5] Therefore, the surface gravity of a planet or star with a given mass will be approximately inversely proportional to the square of its radius, and the surface gravity of a planet or star with a given average density will be approximately proportional to its radius. For example, the recently discovered planet, Gliese 581 c, has at least 5 times the mass of Earth, but is unlikely to have 5 times its surface gravity. If its mass is no more than 5 times that of the Earth, as is expected,[6] and if it is a rocky planet with a large iron core, it should have a radius approximately 50% larger than that of Earth.[7][8] Gravity on such a planet's surface would be approximately 2.2 times as strong as on Earth. If it is an icy or watery planet, its radius might be as large as twice the Earth's, in which case its surface gravity might be no more than 1.25 times as strong as the Earth's.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_gravity
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