Directory

Encyclopedia

NodeWorks
                              ENCYCLOPEDIA

Link Checker

Home
Encyclopedia : G : GL : GLI :

Gliese 876

 

Gliese 876


Gliese 876 is a red dwarf star (spectral type M4V) 15 light years from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. It is only half the size of our Sun but it has been found to be orbited by at least two large planets which are locked in a 2:1 orbital resonance. It is so far one of only two red dwarfs with known extrasolar planets, the other being GJ 436.


Planets

Gliese 876 c

Gliese 876 c is a gas giant half the size of Jupiter, discovered in 2001. It orbits within the star's habitability zone, a region in which the temperature is right for water to be liquid. This means that the planet itself would be partly made up of water clouds. In addition, if the planet has any large moons with atmospheres, life might have the potential to develop on them.


Gliese 876 b

Gliese 876 b is a gas giant twice the size of Jupiter. Its orbit sometimes brings it within the outer edges of the star's habitability zone, but water would normally be frozen on the surface of its moons.

See also

  • Wilhelm Gliese


  • NodeWorks boosts web surfing!
    Page Returned in 0.258 seconds - HTML Compressed 69.0%

    This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available
    under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
     GNU Free Documentation License
    © 2008 Chamas Enterprises Inc.