Humans have long been fascinated by the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. Novels, films, and folk tales have encouraged curiosity and speculation about what might be 'out there' in space.
Even if there is no life on Gliese 581g, its discovery reveals that habitable planets are quite common, with around 10 to 20 per cent of red dwarves and sun-like stars boasting them.
Gliese 581g is part of a string of planets in the Gliese 581 solar system. Two of Gliese 581g's siblings - Gliese 581e and Gliese 581b - orbit too close to their parent star to support any kind of life on them.
Humans have long been fascinated by the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. Novels, films, and folk tales have encouraged curiosity and speculation about what might be 'out there' in space.
Astronomers believe super-Earths are the most abundant planets in our galaxy. The term describes any world heavier than Earth but not as massive as gas giants like Saturn and Jupiter.
Astronomers believe super-Earths are the most abundant planets in our galaxy. The term describes any world heavier than Earth but not as massive as gas giants like Saturn and Jupiter.
"We want to know how a hot, fluid universe turned into one with galaxies and stars and planets and continents and. eventually, people," says UK astronomer Dr Paul Murdin.
The planetary systems are in the deepest recesses of our galaxy and probe the early universe's 'Dark Ages', when dust obscured the cosmos and the first stars flickered into existence. Unique knowledge is expected to flow from
When completed, these machines will allow the world's astronomers to view the birth of thousands of planetary systems in the deepest recesses of our galaxy.
Astronomers suggest that many rocky planets are likely to be found in habitable zones during the coming years, and some of these will provide a better platform for research with current instruments.
Another way to gather information would be to transport a vessel to and from the planet. The technology exists to do this, but at 20 light years from the Earth, it would take 200 years for astronomers to receive the result.
The next step in finding out the chances of life on the planet would be to measure its light spectrum, a process that would reveal molecular oxygen if it exists. The glare from Gliese 581 makes this impossible, however.
Gliese 581 is one of just nine stars at that particular distance which astronomers have searched with high enough precision to uncover a planet in the habitable zone.
Even at 10%, the high possibility of life is overwhelming. There are at least a few hundred billion stars in our galaxy, which means that around 20 to 40 billion planets have the potential for the development of organisms.
Even if there is no life on Gliese 581g, its discovery reveals that habitable planets are quite common, with around 10 to 20 per cent of red dwarves and sun-like stars boasting them.
Planets become stuck with one side always facing the star, just like the Moon and the Earth. Because of this, it is likely that Gliese 581g has permanent daytime on the side facing the star and permanent shadow on the other.
Because Gliese 581 is only 1% as bright as the Sun, it exudes little warmth, and its habitable zone lies much closer. At this distance, planets get locked into strong gravitational pulls that tend to slow their rotation.
Gliese 581g is part of a string of planets in the Gliese 581 solar system. Two of Gliese 581g's siblings - Gliese 581e and Gliese 581b - orbit too close to their parent star to support any kind of life on them.
Planets that grow beyond 10 times the size of the Earth tend to become gaseous and uninhabitable, without the solid or liquid infrastructure necessary for organisms.
Planets that orbit too close to or too far away from their stars do not have a suitable climate; this can only be found in a slender strip of solar space around each star known to astronomers as a 'habitable zone'.
Although we currently know very little about Gliese 581g, a couple of its features strongly indicate that this planet might harbor the existence of organisms.
Steven Vogt - one of the two astronomers credited with discovering Gliese 581g - has declared that 'the chances of life on this planet are 100 per cent' and that he has 'almost no doubt about it'.
More recently, scientists have joined in on the collective wonderment after the first discovery by astronomers of a new planet - Gliese 581g - that could almost certainly support extra-terrestrial organisms.
When a planet, orbiting around a star (other than our sun), passes in front of its parent star, then we can see a spectrum of starlight passing through its atmosphere. This gives us information on the possibility of life.
When a planet, orbiting around a star (other than our sun), passes in front of its parent star, then we can see a spectrum of starlight passing through its atmosphere. This gives us information on the possibility of life.
Weird and wonderful creatures can thrive in the most hostile parts of the planet. This deep ocean worm lives around a hydrothermal vent on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean where temperatures can reach up to 464C (867F).
Weird and wonderful creatures can thrive in the most hostile parts of the planet. This deep ocean worm lives around a hydrothermal vent on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean where temperatures can reach up to 464C (867F).
A US-British team of astronomers discovered a planet 1,200 light-years away with ultra-high concentrations of carbon. This supports the idea that it could have mountains made up of diamonds.