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Terrestrial (Rocky) Planet Discovered

Posted by timothy on from the balboa-x dept.

KilgoryTrout writes "A 'super-Earth' planet was identified in orbit around mu Arae, a star 50 light years away. It orbits at 2 AUs and surface gravity is 14gs. Two gas giants have been detected in orbit about the star. Space.com's article suggests that it is a failed gas giant's rocky core."

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  1. Wrong numbers by Euphonious+Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It says the super-earth is so close to its star that it orbits in 10 days. A nearby gas giant is orbiting at 2 AU. Also, they say the mass is 14 times that of Earth. That would imply a surface gravity of 14G only if it was the same size as
    Earth, which could only happen if it were made out of uranium or something.

    I guess a radius 2.4 times that of Earth, if it's made of the same stuff, or less if it has more iron and less silicates.