This all changed this week when astronomers at the European Southern Observatory announced the existence of “581 c” a planet that lies within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star called Gliese 581. This means the 581 c is just the right distance from the Gliese 581 “sun”.

There are many unanswered questions about this planet that may diminish the chances for life, but this is a major step in this field. After all, Mars falls within the hospitable zone of the Sun and it’s not thriving with life. As a counterpoint, it should be noted that there is a growing possibility that Mars has life below the surface or was inhabited in the past.

With that note of caution out of the way, what would life be like on 581 c?

- Probably a rocky surface like Earth, but might be a giant iceball with pools of water. Either way there is decent chance that 581 c has a lot of water based on the theories of planetary formation.

- Average temperature is believed to be 32-104 degrees F (0-40 degrees C)

- Gravity is about 1.6 times stronger on Earth, so multiply your weight times 1.6 and that would be your weight on 581 c.

- The sun, Gliese 581 c, is very close because a red dwarf star is much cooler than our Sun. A sunny day on 581 c results in a giant red sun in the sky that would be twenty times bigger than the Moon in our sky.

- Your birthday would be every 13 days.

- There might not be a sunrise or sunset. The astronomers have concluded that it probably doesn’t rotate (not a confirmed fact, though), so the light side of the planet could be an optimal place for life to prosper under a giant red “charcoal ember” in the sky.

This is definitely one of the most exciting stories I’ve heard in a long time, so stay tuned for more on this story as scientists try to confirm the presence of water and what atmosphere this new planet has. Also, the existence of a planet of a red dwarf star (let alone a potentially Earth-like planet) was somewhat of a surprise for scientists and they have spent more time on more Sun-like stars in the past, so there’s a good chance of hearing about more Earth-like planets in the future. This adds further excitement to the story because 80% of the stars relatively “close” to Earth are red-dwarfs….so cool.

—-
On a lighter note, a sign of how significant this story is can be found in reports from our good friends across the big pond in England. Upon the news of 581 c, bookmakers have lowered the odds of extraterrestrial life from 1000-1 to 100-1!

—
On a more romantic note, scientists at SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life Institute) quickly made plans to focus more attention on 581 c in hopes of hearing what’s playing on the radio stations on 581 c. Wouldn’t that be something, eh?

——
Posted by Tim Roth, author of the political blog Think Anew and Act Anew

Sources:
1. “Extrasolar planet”, Wikipedia entry.

2. “Potentially Habitable Planet Found” by Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press.

3. “Scientists find most Earth-like planet yet”, very similar AP report to the above Washington Post source (the introduction is different).

4. “Bookies give alien life good odds”, Peter Sorel-Cameron for CNN