-
Q-news
- Two million people at risk of starvation as drought returns to Somalia
- Arthur Eddington proves Einstein's Theory of General Relativity—100 years ago
- New research shows that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is thinning fast
- Extinction Rebellion protests make a global impact
- Astronomers capture the first image of a black hole
- Cyclone Idai causes catastrophic damage in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi
- Students' strike for climate movement gathers momentum
- Do temperature extremes indicate that climate change is accelerating?
- Scientists find the remains of tiny animals in a lake deep beneath Antarctic ice
- Plant successfully grown on the Moon during Chinese space probe mission
- New Horizons space probe to fly by the most distant Solar System object yet
- Scientists discover a vast underground ecosystem
- Scientists agree to update the definition of a kilogram
- NASA’s InSight probe touches down on Mars
- California wildfire is the deadliest and most destructive in the state's history
- Remembrance Day falls on the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I
- The world's first hydrogen-powered train goes into service
- Astronomers announce the possible discovery of the first known moon outside our Solar System
- Japanese robots successfully land on an asteroid
- Rohingya shelter in the world's largest refugee camp
- Are world insect populations in catastrophic decline?
- Longest lunar eclipse of the century
- Krill fishing companies agree to back Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary
- Antarctic ice is melting faster than ever
- The FIFA World Cup tournament kicks off in Russia
- Is there a ninth major planet lurking in the outer reaches of our Solar System?
- Kilauea, one of Hawaii's active volcanoes, erupts
- The Sun will become a glowing ring of gas and dust when it dies
- Gorilla populations under threat, but numbers are higher than expected
- Gulf Stream current at its weakest in 1600 years
- Northern white rhinoceros dies, leaving only three left
- Scientists show that Archaeopteryx flew like a pheasant
- Scientists uncover new facts about the ancestry of modern Britons
- Cape Town awaits Day Zero when its water taps will be turned off
- Bayeux Tapestry to be loaned to Britain for public display
- Astronomers to check interstellar object for signs of alien technology
- Scientists show how feathers evolved from reptiles’ scales
- Will Mount Agung, an active volcano on Bali, erupt?
-
Potentially habitable planet found just 11 light years away
- New species of orang-utan discovered in Sumatra
- Astronomers witness neutron stars colliding in space
- Scientists discover an underwater “city” built by octopuses
- The Cassini space probe goes out in spectacular style
- Hurricane Harvey causes devastating floods in Texas
- Missing link between Stegosaurus and T. rex may have been discovered
- New evidence shows that people may have inhabited Australia 80,000 years ago
- Martian soil found to contain lethal chemicals that can destroy life
- Discovery of 300,000-year-old remains rewrites story of human evolution
- Global Seed Vault threatened by floods caused by climate change
- Space probe Cassini dives through the gap between Saturn and its rings
- “Hobbit” species may have been the first humans to migrate from Africa
- Dinosaur family tree may be completely redrawn
- Which country has been declared the happiest in the world?
- Mystery of what caused the woolly mammoth to go extinct may be solved
- Seven Earth-like planets discovered orbiting around a single star
- Scientists may have solved the mystery of why dinosaurs went extinct
- The fall armyworm is on the march in Africa, destroying maize crops as it goes
- Dippy the Diplodocus is being prepared for his tour of the UK
- Tooth repair drug may replace fillings
- Deep crack in the ice forces Antarctic research station to relocate
- Record low extent of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean expected this winter
- A 14-year-old girl who died of cancer has been cryopreserved
- Biggest supermoon in nearly 69 years
- United States prepares to elect a new President
- Hurricane Matthew wreaks havoc in the Caribbean and southeastern US
- Illegal trading in pangolins and other wild animals threatens them with extinction
- A “ring of fire” appears over Africa
- Are the strange signals from a distant star an “alien megastructure”?
- Controversy continues over fracking
- Marshlands of southern Iraq named as a World Heritage Site
- Juno space probe nears the planet Jupiter
- Centenary of the Battle of the Somme
- Britain to decide whether to stay in or leave the EU
- El Niño causes severe droughts across the world
- Driverless taxis could be on the streets within a year
- Scientists discover gravitational waves
- Antibiotic defences against diseases under threat
- Space probe Cassini flies through a spray of ice from Saturn’s moon, Enceladus
- Coral bleaching is taking place on a massive scale
- Evidence of flowing water discovered on Mars
- Queen Elizabeth set to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history
- Tutankhamun’s tomb may contain the secret burial chamber of Queen Nefertiti
- Scientists warn that Earth is entering a sixth extinction phase
- Can dinosaurs really be brought back to life?
- New human ancestor from Ethiopia discovered
- Australia and New Zealand prepare to mark 100 years since Gallipoli
- Solar-powered plane sets off on flight around the world
- Five trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean
- Ebola virus epidemic in Africa
- Q-&-A: Please send in your tricky questions…
- Q-files, the kids' encyclopaedia with fun facts, goes online
Q-news
CITE
We have made every effort to follow citation style rules, but there may be some minor differences. If in doubt, please refer to the appropriate citation style manual.
Potentially habitable planet found just 11 light years away. (2017). In Q-files Encyclopedia, Q-news. Retrieved from
https://www.q-files.com/news/q-news/potentially-habitable-planet-found-just-11-light-years-away/
"Potentially habitable planet found just 11 light years away." Q-news, Q-files Encyclopedia, 16 Nov. 2017.
https://www.q-files.com/news/q-news/potentially-habitable-planet-found-just-11-light-years-away/.
Accessed 16 Jun. 2019.
Potentially habitable planet found just 11 light years away 2017. Q-news. Retrieved 16 June 2019, from
https://www.q-files.com/news/q-news/potentially-habitable-planet-found-just-11-light-years-away/
Q-news, s.v. "Potentially habitable planet found just 11 light years away," accessed June 16, 2019.
https://www.q-files.com/news/q-news/potentially-habitable-planet-found-just-11-light-years-away/
Potentially habitable planet found just 11 light years away
Ross 128 b orbits its parent star
A potentially habitable planet, called Ross 128 b, has been discovered just 11 light years away from Earth. It is roughly Earth-sized and orbits its parent star once every 9.9 days. Its surface temperature lies somewhere between -60°C and 20°C (-76°F and 68°F), which is similar to Earth. It is possible that liquid water is present, and therefore life—but neither have been detected so far. Ross 128 b was discovered by a team of astronomers using a planet-hunting telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), La Silla, Chile. This identifies planets not be viewing them in the night sky—they are far too tiny—but by the way their gravity causes their parent stars to wobble very slightly.
All images Iztok Boncina/ESO
Artist's impression of the planet's surface
Ross 128 b is more massive than the Earth, with at least 1.35 times our planet’s mass. This means someone on its surface would feel a stronger pull of gravity. The exoplanet—a term given to planets discovered orbiting stars in solar systems other than our own—is 20 times closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun. (This gives it a much shorter orbit, which is why its year lasts just 9.9 days.) Ross 128 b doesn't have a blisteringly hot surface, however, because the star is a red dwarf, which is a far smaller and cooler type of star than the Sun.
© 2019 Q-files Ltd. All rights reserved. Switch to Mobile