Gliese 581c

Coordinates: 15h 19m 26s, −07° 43′ 20″

Gliese 581c /ˈɡliːzə/ (Gl 581c or GJ 581c) is an exoplanet

orbiting within the Gliese 581 system. It is the second planet
Gliese 581c
discovered in the system and the third in order from the star. With a
mass at least 5.5 times that of the Earth, it is classified as a super-
Earth (a category of planets with masses greater than Earth's up to
ten Earth masses).

Gliese 581c gained interest from astronomers because it was

Size comparison of Gliese 581c
reported to be the first potentially Earth-like planet in the habitable
with Earth and Neptune
zone of its star, with a temperature right for liquid water on its
surface, and, by extension, potentially capable of supporting (based on selected hypothetical
extremophile forms of Earth-like life. However, further research modeled compositions)
casts doubt upon the planet's habitability. It is tidally locked Discovery[1]
(always presents the same face to the object it is orbiting) so if life
Discovered by Stéphane Udry et
had a chance to emerge, the best hope of survival would be in the
al.
"terminator zone".
Discovery site La Silla
In astronomical terms, the Gliese 581 system is relatively close to Observatory
Earth, at 20.55 light-years (194 trillion kilometres; 121 trillion
Discovery date 4 April 2007
miles) in the direction of the constellation of Libra. This distance,
along with the declination and right ascension coordinates, give its 24 April 2007
exact location in the Milky Way. (announced)

Detection Radial velocity

Discovery method
Orbital characteristics[2]
The team released a paper of their findings dated 27 April 2007,
Semi-major 0.074 ± 0.001 AU
published in the July 2007 journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.[1] axis
At the time of discovery, it was reported to be the first potentially
Eccentricity +0.150
Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of its star[4][5] and the 0.087 −0.016
smallest-known exoplanet around a main-sequence star, but on 21 Orbital period +0.003
12.919 −0.002 d
April 2009, another planet orbiting Gliese 581, Gliese 581e, with (sidereal)
an approximate mass of 1.9 Earth masses, was announced. In the
Time of 2454759.2 ±
paper, they also announced the discovery of another planet in the periastron 0.1[3]
system, Gliese 581d, with a minimum mass of 7.7 Earth masses
+71.5°
and a semi-major axis of 0.25 astronomical units.[3] Argument of 148.7° −33.0°
periastron
Semi-amplitude 3.28 +0.22 m/s
Physical characteristics −0.12
Star Gliese 581[4]
Physical characteristics[2]
Mass
Mass +0.386
≥5.652 −0.239 M🜨
The existence of Gliese 581c and its mass have been measured by the radial velocity method of detecting
exoplanets. The mass of a planet is calculated by the small periodic movements around a common centre of
mass between the host star Gliese 581 and its planets. When all six planets are fitted with a Keplerian
solution, the minimum mass of the planet is determined to be 5.5 Earth masses.[3] The radial velocity
method cannot by itself determine the true mass, but it cannot be very much larger than this or the system
would be dynamically unstable.[1] Dynamical simulations of the Gliese 581 system which assume the orbits
of the planets are coplanar indicate that the planets cannot exceed approximately 1.6 to 2 times their
minimum masses or the planetary system would be unstable (this is primarily due to the interaction between
planets e and b). For Gliese 581c, the upper bound is 10.4 Earth masses.[6]

Radius

Since Gliese 581c has not been detected in transit, there are no measurements of its radius. Furthermore, the
radial velocity method used to detect it only puts a lower limit on the planet's mass, which means theoretical
models of planetary radius and structure can only be of limited use. However, assuming a random
orientation of the planet's orbit, the true mass is likely to be close to the measured minimum mass.

Assuming that the true mass is the minimum mass, the radius may be calculated using various models. For
example, if Gliese 581c is a rocky planet with a large iron core, it should have a radius approximately 50%
larger than that of Earth, according to Udry's team.[1][7] Gravity on such a planet's surface would be
approximately 2.24 times as strong as on Earth. However, if Gliese 581c is an icy and/or watery planet, its
radius would be less than 2 times that of Earth, even with a very large outer hydrosphere, according to
density models compiled by Diana Valencia and her team for Gliese 876 d.[8] Gravity on the surface of
such an icy and/or watery planet would be at least 1.25 times as strong as on Earth. They claim the real
value of the radius may be anything between the two extremes calculated by density models outlined
above.[9]

Other scientists' views differ. Sara Seager at MIT has speculated that Gliese 581c and other five-Earth-mass
planets could be:[10]

"rock giants" mostly of silicate;

"cannonball" planets of solid iron;
"gas dwarfs" mostly of helium and hydrogen;
carbon-rich "diamond worlds";
purely hot "ice VII worlds";
purely "carbon monoxide worlds".

If the planet transits the star as seen from the direction of the Earth, the radius should be measurable, albeit
with some uncertainty. Unfortunately, measurements made with the Canadian-built MOST space telescope
indicate that transits do not occur.[11]

The new research suggests that the rocky centres of super-Earths are unlikely to evolve into terrestrial rocky
planets like the inner planets of the Solar System because they appear to hold onto their large atmospheres.
Rather than evolving to a planet composed mainly of rock with a thin atmosphere, the small rocky core
remains engulfed by its large hydrogen-rich envelope.[12][13]

Orbit
Gliese 581c has an orbital period ("year") of 13 Earth days[14]
and its orbital radius is only about 7% that of the Earth, about
11 million km,[15] while the Earth is 150 million km from the
Sun.[16] Since the host star is smaller and colder than the Sun
—and thus less luminous—this distance places the planet on
the "warm" edge of the habitable zone around the star
according to Udry's team.[1][7] Note that in astrophysics, the
"habitable zone" is defined as the range of distances from the
star at which a planet could support liquid water on its surface:
it should not be taken to mean that the planet's environment
would be suitable for humans, a situation which requires a
more restrictive range of parameters. A typical radius for an
M0 star of Gliese 581's age and metallicity is 0.00128 AU,[17]
against the Sun's 0.00465 AU. This proximity means that the
primary star should appear 3.75 times wider and 14 times
larger in area for an observer on the planet's surface looking at The orbits of the Gliese 581 system, as
the sky than the Sun appears to be from Earth's surface. per the 2009 analysis excluding planet g.
In the picture, Gliese 581c is the third
planet from the star.
Tidal lock

Because of its small separation from Gliese 581, the planet has been generally considered to always have
one hemisphere facing the star (only day), and the other always facing away (only night), or in other words
being tidally locked.[18][19] The most recent orbital fit to the system, taking stellar activity into account
indicates a circular orbit,[3] but older fits use an eccentricity between 0.10 and 0.22. If the orbit of the planet
were eccentric, it would undergo violent tidal flexing.[20] Because tidal forces are stronger when the planet
is close to the star, eccentric planets are expected to have a rotation period that is shorter than its orbital
period, also called pseudo-synchronization.[21] An example of this effect is seen in Mercury, which is
tidally locked in a 3:2 resonance, completing three rotations every two orbits. In any case, even in the case
of 1:1 tidal lock, the planet would undergo libration and the terminator would be alternatively lit and
darkened during libration.[22]

Models of the evolution of the planet's orbit over time suggest that heating resulting from this tidal locking
may play a major role in the planet's geology. Models proposed by scientists predict that tidal heating could
yield a surface heat flux about three times greater than that of Jupiter's moon Io, which could result in major
geological activity such as volcanoes and plate tectonics.[23]

Habitability and climate

The study of Gliese 581c by the von Bloh et al. team has been quoted as concluding "The super-Earth Gl
581c is clearly outside the habitable zone, since it is too close to the star."[24] The study by Selsis et al.
claims even "a planet in the habitable zone is not necessarily habitable" itself, and this planet "is outside
what can be considered the conservative habitable zone" of the parent star, and further that if there was any
water there then it was lost when the red dwarf was a strong X-ray and EUV emitter, it could have surface
temperatures ranging from 700 to 1,000 K (427 to 727 °C), like Venus today.[25] Temperature speculations
by other scientists were based on the temperature of (and heat from) the parent star Gliese 581 and have
been calculated without factoring in the margin of error (96 °C/K) for the star's temperature of 3,432 K to
3,528 K, which leads to a large irradiance range for the planet, even before eccentricity is considered.[26]

Effective temperatures

Using the measured stellar luminosity of Gliese 581 of 0.013 times that of the Sun, it is possible to calculate
Gliese 581c's effective temperature, a.k.a. black body temperature, which probably differs from its surface
temperature. According to Udry's team, the effective temperature for Gliese 581c, assuming an albedo
(reflectivity) such as that of Venus (0.64), would be −3 °C (27 °F), and assuming an Earth-like albedo
(0.296), it would be 40 °C (104 °F),[1][14] a range of temperatures that overlap with the range at which
water would be liquid at a pressure of 1 atmosphere. However, the effective temperature and actual surface
temperature can be very different due to the greenhouse properties of the planetary atmosphere. For
example, Venus has an effective temperature of 34.25 °C (93.65 °F), but a surface temperature of 464 °C
(867 °F) (mainly due to a 96.5% carbon dioxide atmosphere), a difference of about 430 °C (770 °F).[27]

Studies of habitability (i.e. liquid water for extremophile forms of life)[28] conclude that Gliese 581c is
likely to suffer from a runaway greenhouse effect similar to that found on Venus and, as such, is highly
unlikely to be habitable. Nevertheless, this runaway greenhouse effect could be prevented by the presence
of sufficient reflective cloud cover on the planet's day side.[29] Alternatively, if the surface were covered in
ice, it would have a high albedo (reflectivity), and thus could reflect enough of the incident sunlight back
into space to render the planet too cold for habitability, although this situation is expected to be very
unstable except for very high albedos greater than about 0.95 (i.e. ice): release of carbon dioxide by
volcanic activity or of water vapor due to heating at the substellar point would trigger a runaway
greenhouse effect.[30]

Liquid water

Gliese 581c is likely to lie outside the habitable zone.[24][31] No direct evidence has been found for water
to be present, and it is probably not present in the liquid state. Techniques like the one used to measure the
extrasolar planet HD 209458 b may in the future be used to determine the presence of water in the form of
vapor in the planet's atmosphere, but only in the rare case of a planet with an orbit aligned so as to transit its
star, which Gliese 581c is not known to do.[11]

Tidally locked models

Theoretical models predict that volatile compounds such as water and carbon dioxide, if present, might
evaporate in the scorching heat of the sunward side, migrate to the cooler night side, and condense to form
ice caps. Over time, the entire atmosphere might freeze into ice caps on the night side of the planet.
However, it remains unknown if water and/or carbon dioxide are even present on the surface of Gliese
581c. Alternatively, an atmosphere large enough to be stable would circulate the heat more evenly, allowing
for a wider habitable area on the surface.[32] For example, although Venus has a small axial inclination,
very little sunlight reaches the surface at the poles. A slow rotation rate approximately 117 times slower than
Earth's produces prolonged days and nights. Despite the uneven distribution of sunlight cast on Venus at
any given time, polar areas and the night side of Venus are kept almost as hot as on the day side by globally
circulating winds.[33]

A Message from Earth

A Message from Earth (AMFE) is a high-powered digital radio signal that was sent on 9 October 2008
towards Gliese 581c. The signal is a digital time capsule containing 501 messages that were selected
through a competition on the social networking site Bebo. The message was sent using the RT-70 radar
telescope of Ukraine's State Space Agency. The signal will reach the planet Gliese 581c in early 2029.[34]
More than half a million people including celebrities and politicians participated in the AMFE project,
which was the world's first digital time capsule where the content was selected by the public.[35][36]

As of 22 January 2015, the message has traveled 59.48 trillion km of the total 192 trillion km, which is
31.0% of the distance to the Gliese 581 system.[37]

On 13 February 2015, scientists (including David Grinspoon, Seth Shostak and David Brin) at an annual
meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, discussed Active SETI and whether
transmitting a message to possible intelligent extraterrestrials in the Cosmos was a good idea.[38][39] That
same week, a statement was released, signed by many in the SETI community, that a "worldwide scientific,
political and humanitarian discussion must occur before any message is sent".[40] However, neither Frank
Drake, nor Seth Shostak signed this appeal. On 28 March 2015, a related essay with some different point of
view was written by Seth Shostak and published in The New York Times.[41]

In popular culture
Gliese 581 was mentioned in the science fiction manifesto Super Constitution as the potential home of the
alien visitor Ohara, although she was, in fact, a front for a trio of scientists intent on forcing the creating of a
world government. This novel was discussed in the podcast 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back.

Estonian singer Laura Põldvere sings poetically about the "beautiful far-away planet" in her song 581c.

See also
Circumstellar habitable zone (Goldilocks phenomenon)
CoRoT-7b
Interstellar travel
Planetary habitability

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34. Moore, Matthew (9 October 2008). "Messages from Earth sent to distant planet by Bebo" (htt
ps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3166709/Messages-from-Earth-se
nt-to-distant-planet-by-Bebo.html). .telegraph.co.uk. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
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Celebrity-Faces-Into-Space/Article/200810215117103?lpos=Technology_First_Technology
_Article_Teaser_Region__3&lid=ARTICLE_15117103_Bebos_A_Message_from_Earth_Pr
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Further reading

News media reports

Dennis Overbye (12 June 2007). "A Planet Is Too Hot for Life, but Another May Be Just
Right" (https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/science/space/12plan.html). The New York
Times. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
"Astronomers Find First Earth-like Planet in Habitable Zone" (https://web.archive.org/web/20
080828055304/http://eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2007/pr-22-07.html). European Southern
Observatory. 25 April 2007. Archived from the original (http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/
pr-2007/pr-22-07.html) on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
"New 'super-Earth' found in space" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6589157.stm).
BBC News. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
Than, Ker (24 April 2007). "Major Discovery: New Planet Could Harbor Water and Life" (htt
p://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070424_hab_exoplanet.html). SPACE.com.
Retrieved 20 June 2008.
Hazel Muir (25 April 2007). " 'Goldilocks' planet may be just right for life" (https://www.newsci
entist.com/article/dn11710). New ScientistSpace.
 "Astronomers find first habitable Earth-like planet" (https://web.archive.org/web/2009031600
4654/http://www.scientificblogging.com/news/astronomers_find_first_habitable_earth_like_p
lanet). Scientificblogging.com. 24 April 2007. Archived from the original (http://www.scientific
blogging.com/news/astronomers_find_first_habitable_earth_like_planet) on 16 March 2009.
Retrieved 25 April 2007.
Ian Sample (24 April 2007). " 'Second Earth' may mean we're not alone" (http://www.hindu.c
om/thehindu/holnus/008200704250305.htm). The Hindu.
J. R. Minkle (24 April 2007). "All Wet? Astronomers Claim Discovery of Earth-like Planet" (htt
p://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=25A261F0-E7F2-99DF-313249A4883E6A86&cha
nID=sa007). Scientific American.
"Distant planet judged possibly habitable" (http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070425-
habitable-planet.htm). World Science. 23 April 2007.
ANI (23 April 2007). "First habitable Earth like planet outside Solar System discovered" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20070427014548/http://www.dailyindia.com/show/135806.php/First
-habitable-Earth-like-planet-outside-Solar-System-discovered). DailyIndia.com. Archived
from the original (http://www.dailyindia.com/show/135806.php/First-habitable-Earth-like-plan
et-outside-Solar-System-discovered) on 27 April 2007.

Non-news media
"Artist conceptions of extrasolar planet Gliese 581 c" (http://www.cosmographica.com/cosmo
20130812/gliese581c.html). Cosmographica. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
"The Neighbor: Gliese 581c" (https://web.archive.org/web/20071227124513/http://www.geoc
hemsoc.org/publications/geochemicalnews/gn131apr07/theneighborgliese581c.htm). The
Geochemical Society. Archived from the original (http://www.geochemsoc.org/publications/g
eochemicalnews/gn131apr07/theneighborgliese581c.htm) on 27 December 2007. Retrieved
6 December 2007.
"Red, Willing, and Able: 2001 New Scientist article on types of planets likely to be around
red dwarf stars" (http://www.kencroswell.com/reddwarflife.html). KenCroswell.com.
Retrieved 20 June 2008.
Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (2 May 2007). "Sunrise from the Surface of Gliese 581c" (http
s://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070502.html). Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved
20 June 2008.

External links
Gliese 581 - The "Red Dwarf" and implications for its "earthlike" planet Gliese 581c (http://m
embers.misty.com/don/g581.html)

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