Earlier this year, news surfaced about a planet or three that orbit the star Gliese. Three planets were found to be orbiting that star which lie within the 'Goldilocks Zone' of the star. The Goldilocks Zone is the area around a star which is the correct distance to maintain liquid water. The liquid water is thought to be an important indicator for potential extra-terrestrial life. One of the planets most cited was Gliese 581c, it was thought that greenhouse effects on that planet plus it's proximity to the star Gliese would have formed a temperature range and atmospheric conditions similar to those on Earth. According to a recent report, however, that information seems incorrect. New calculations show that Gliese 581c is probably similar to Venus - which a runaway greenhouse effect that keeps the planets temperatures about 100 ° C.

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 mo