A team led by David Bennett of the University of Notre Dame has found the smallest planet outside of our Solar System yet. It's 3,000 light-years away, and it orbits what is likely a brown dwarf-- a star that doesn't have quite enough mass to achieve sustained nuclear fusion.
With roughly three times the mass of Earth, the world is a "super-Earth." Scientists believe it has a thick atmosphere, and may be covered by an ocean of water. It orbits the brown dwarf at about the same distance that Venus orbits the Sun. Even though the brown dwarf gives off minimal heat, scientists believe radiating internal heat could make surface temperatures on the planet fairly mild.
Brown dwarfs have not been thought to be good bets to harbor planets. The fact that at least some do is one more reason to believe planets are common throughout the cosmos.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment