Date: Thursday, 23-February-2012, 9:45 AM | Message # 1
-- dragon lord--
Group: lords
Messages: 3003
Status: Offline
A watery planet with a thick, steamy atmosphere has left astronomers fumbling for their classification books.
The water world, which has been named GJ1214b, is 2.7 times bigger than earth but weighs almost seven times as much.
GJ1214b orbits a red-dwarf star at a distance of two million kilometres, suggesting temperatures may reach up to 200C.
Astronomers believe the planet is an entirely new classification of celestial body, with the mixture of water and high temperatures meaning there is a chance new alien materials could have been produced.
An astronaut attempting to visit recently discovered planet GJ1214b would land in hot water -- literally, US scientists say. Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said they have identified an entirely new kind of planet, dominated not by rock, gas or other common materials, but water.
Message edited by sanju - Friday, 24-February-2012, 9:25 AM
