ACEIZE Tracking the current state of Science and Technology

20.5 light years away from Earth lies the red dwarf star Gilese 581. Using the HARP instruments in Chile and the radial-velocity technique (looking for wobble in a star caused by gravitational pull of planets), scientists have found two planets inside the habitable zone, as determined by temperature, of the star. One planet is 5 times the mass of Earth, called Gilese 581 C. The other is 13 times the mass of Earth. 581 C is expected to have either a rocky surface or a surface consisting primarily of oceans. To date, Gilese 581 C is the most earth like planet found outside of our solar system according to Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institute.