Saturday, October 2, 2010

APOD 1.5



Zarmina's World (aka Gliese 581g) is a possibly habitable planet only 20 light-years from Earth.  The discovery of such a planet a relatively short distance away suggests that there may be many other planets in our galaxy that are quite similar to this one.  This planet has been studied on many levels in order to decide whether it is possible for liquid water and life to survive on the planet's surface.  The area in which this is possible is termed the habitable zone of a galaxy, and in the Gilese 581 galaxy, there is one planet in this zone, and two very near it.  In the Milky Way galaxy, the same pattern occurs, which is one reason this galaxy is of special interest to many astronomers.  Of course, this is not an actual image of the planet, as we have yet to have the ability to travel these great distances.  This picture is an artist's rendition of the planet and its red dwarf sun.  This is also not a planet that is expected to be able to sustain human life, but some life form could potentially survive here.

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