Super-Earths are exoplanets more massive than Earth but smaller than gas giants. They interest astronomers as they do not exist in our solar system. Detection technology is not yet sensitive enough to find Earth-sized exoplanets. Gliese 876 d and Gliese 581 c are examples of Super-Earths, but they are not habitable. More Super-Earths are expected to be discovered as technology improves.
A super-Earth is a type of extrasolar planet (exoplanet) that is more massive than Earth but not as large as a gas giant such as Jupiter or Saturn. The concept is relatively new. Scientific articles variously define a super-Earth as a planet between 1 and 10 Earth masses, or as a planet between 5 and 10 Earth masses. It may be some time before a standard definition emerges, if it does. Super-Earths interest astronomers because they are a category of planets that do not exist in our solar system and therefore have an aura of mystery about them.
Most exoplanets discovered so far are Super-Earths or gas giants. This is because our detection technology is not yet sensitive enough to find exoplanets with a mass similar to or less than Earth. The first Super-Earths discovered were PSR 1257+12 b and PSR 1257+12 c, planets with masses about 4 times that of Earth, orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12 located 980 light-years from the Sun. Although discovered for the first time in 1992, only in 2003 their existence was confirmed to the satisfaction of the astronomical community. These were the first exoplanets to be discovered, but not the first to be confirmed. they orbit a pulsar, so these planets are constantly bathed in X-rays and definitely not habitable for life as we know it.
In 2005, the first Super-Earth orbiting a main sequence or Sun-like star was detected. The planet, Gliese 876 d, was discovered by a team led by Eugenio Rivera and is orbiting Gliese 876 , a red dwarf star about 15 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. With an estimated mass of about 7.5 times that of Earth, Gliese 876 d probably has a surface gravity of about 3 g, which would be enough to walk as if lifting twice its own weight. That’s not the only feature of this super-Earth that might scare off potential colonists: It’s also located so close to its parent star that its surface temperature is likely around 710°F (377°C), similar to that of Venus.
In April 2007, the discovery of super-Earth Gliese 581 c by a team led by Switzerland-based Stephane Udry made headlines, being the first planet discovered in the habitable zone of its home star. The habitable zone is that region around a star where temperatures have the potential to be Earth-like and the existence of liquid water is theoretically possible. Gliese 581 c has a mass of about 5 Earth masses and orbits Gliese 581, a red dwarf star located 20.3 light-years from the Sun. Located about 0.073 astronomical units (11 million km) from its parent star, Gliese 581 c lies on the hot edge of its star’s habitable zone.
Only a few Super-Earths have been detected so far, but many more are expected to be discovered as detection technology improves. As the field advances, super-Earths are likely to be the exoplanets grabbing the most headlines, due to their relative similarity to Earth compared to gas giant exoplanets.
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