Gliese 581d

Life off Earth, not on Gliese 581c

Gliese 581 star system

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.

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