In a story today in the Sydney Morning Herald, reprinted from the Washington Post, Sarah Kaplan writes on the
discovery of Earth-size exoplanet orbiting the star Ross 128, a dim red dwarf just 11 light years away.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Sarah Kaplan, Washington Post
The newfound world, dubbed Ross 128 b, is the closest temperate planet known to orbit a "quiet star" - one that isn't prone to devastating and potentially life-obliterating bursts of radiation.
And it appears to meet some of the basic requirements for habitability. The planet is slightly more massive than Earth, so it is probably a rocky world with a solid surface. The host star is much cooler and fainter than our sun, but Ross 128 b orbits it closely and quickly - a year lasts just 9.9 days. The planet receives about 38 percent more radiation than Earth does - enough to give it an equilibrium temperature between -60 degrees and 20 degrees Celcius, assuming it has an Earthlike atmosphere (and that's a huge assumption).
Though the study authors call Ross 128 b a "temperate planet", it's not clear whether it falls within the habitable zone - the Goldilocks region where a planet is just warm enough for liquid water to exist on its surface.
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Full story here :-
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci...15-gzmah7.html