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An Inner Solar System Much [Well, a Little] Like Ours, 35 Light-Years Away
earthsky.org ^ | Paul Scott Anderson

Posted on 08/06/2021 1:16:55 PM PDT by BenLurkin

[O]n August 5, 2021, astronomers said they’ve found a distant planetary system that has intriguing similarities to our sun’s inner solar system. One of the planets is about half the mass of Venus... Another could have oceans. And there might be yet another rocky world in this system’s habitable zone.

The host star, L 98-59, is only 35 light-years away. It has at least four confirmed rocky planets and possibly a fifth. That’s similar to our solar system’s rocky worlds (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars). But, in the L 98-59 system, the distance scales are different. And, by the way, all the known planets of L 98-59 are categorized as super-Earths. That means they’re rocky worlds larger in size than Earth, but smaller than Neptune.

The innermost planet, L 98-59b, is only about half the mass of Venus. It’s the lightest exoplanet found so far using the radial velocity method. That technique measures the tiny “wobble” of a star caused by the gravitational tug of unseen orbiting planets.... Its mass is only 1.01 times that of Earth, so very, very similar. It orbits its star in only 2.3 days, though!

The second planet is labeled L 98-59c. Its mass is 2.42 times that of Earth, and it orbits in 2.7 days.

The third planet is ...labeled L 98-59d. The researchers have calculated that up to 30% of this world’s mass is likely water. If so, it’s an ocean world. It’s not known yet how similar L 98-59d might be to Earth in terms of its oceans.... This planet has a mass 2.31 times Earth’s. It orbits its star in 7.5 days.

The newest-known planet in this system is the fourth planet, L 98-59e. It has a mass 3.06 times that of Earth and orbits its star in 12.796 days.

(Excerpt) Read more at earthsky.org ...


TOPICS: Astronomy
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1 posted on 08/06/2021 1:16:55 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

I think its time to coin a new phrase.

We have ‘fear porn’ with covid.

This stuff is ‘astronomical porn’

Really big imaginations at work again.


2 posted on 08/06/2021 1:18:34 PM PDT by George from New England
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To: BenLurkin
An Inner Solar System Much [Well, a Little] Nothing Like Ours, 35 Light-Years Away
3 posted on 08/06/2021 1:20:23 PM PDT by qam1 (There's been a huge party. All plates and the bottles are empty, all that's left is the bill to pay)
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To: BenLurkin

>> And, by the way, all the known planets of L 98-59 are categorized as super-Earths.<<

Krypton has been found


4 posted on 08/06/2021 1:22:49 PM PDT by freedumb2003 (The democrats have just replaced KKK with CRT. /Kevin McCarty 7/6/21)
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To: BenLurkin

Does it have leftistts? ‘Cause if it has leftists, I ain’t goin’.


5 posted on 08/06/2021 1:24:00 PM PDT by LIConFem (Read up on Russia's Oct, 1917 Revolution... And prepare.)
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To: BenLurkin
[...] all the known planets of L 98-59 are categorized as super-Earths. That means they’re rocky worlds larger in size than Earth, but smaller than Neptune.

The innermost planet, L 98-59b, is only about half the mass of Venus. It’s the lightest exoplanet found so far using the radial velocity method. That technique measures the tiny “wobble” of a star caused by the gravitational tug of unseen orbiting planets.... Its mass is only 1.01 times that of Earth [...]

Venus has a mass less than that of Earth, so a planet less than half the mass of Venus would also be less massive than Earth, so something is wrong here.

Perhaps the comparison in mass should not be with Venus, but rather with another planet (the seventh)?

Regards,

6 posted on 08/06/2021 1:24:28 PM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: BenLurkin

So as far as we know, the star may have already exploded and destroyed the planet.


7 posted on 08/06/2021 1:25:51 PM PDT by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: George from New England

Just don’t call it “Astro-porn” Yikes!

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=astro-porn&va=b&t=hr&ia=web


8 posted on 08/06/2021 1:29:44 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire. Or both.)
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To: BenLurkin

So our farthest probe is travelling at about 50000 mph and is less than one light day away after 40 years.

So, do the math on a 35 light year journey.

Gonna need to figure out warp drive.


9 posted on 08/06/2021 1:38:23 PM PDT by lurk ( )
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To: BenLurkin

“…all the known planets of L 98-59 are…larger in size than Earth..”

“….L 98-59b, is only…half the mass of Venus.”

I’m no Astro-physicist, but something doesn’t add up here:

Venus is smaller than Earth.


10 posted on 08/06/2021 1:39:03 PM PDT by enumerated
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To: lurk

It’s only two hundred five trillion, seven hundred fifty one billion, eight hundred seventy five million, miles, give or take a few. Why it’s right in our backyard universally speaking. Maybe I’ll look up the star in “The star registry”.


11 posted on 08/06/2021 1:48:16 PM PDT by Ed Condon (subliminal messages here in invisible ink)
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To: monkeyshine

Its a red dwarf I believe, they can go for hundreds of billions of years before they die and I don’t think they nova either, they’re to small.


12 posted on 08/06/2021 1:54:38 PM PDT by fatman6502002 ((The Team The Team The Team - Bo Schembechler circa 1969))
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To: BenLurkin

Better start packing now.


13 posted on 08/06/2021 1:57:16 PM PDT by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes.)
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To: fatman6502002

We can expect red dwarf Robert Reich to hang around and torture people for billions more years?


14 posted on 08/06/2021 2:08:40 PM PDT by alstewartfan ("She looks like she's 19 years old, sitting there like a lady with her legs crossed." Creepy Joe)
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To: fatman6502002

They all sound tidal locked to their sun, and either blasted on one side by heat and radiation, and near absolute zero on the “dark” side.


15 posted on 08/06/2021 2:10:05 PM PDT by Alas Babylon! ("You, the American people, are my only special interest." --President Donald J. Trump)
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To: alstewartfan

Red Dwarf Robert Reich. That is hilarious, hat tip to alstewartfan


16 posted on 08/06/2021 2:27:30 PM PDT by fatman6502002 ((The Team The Team The Team - Bo Schembechler circa 1969))
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To: BenLurkin

It is an M type star. A tiny ruddy red runt. For any planet that is actually close enough to get enough heat for life it is also so close it would occasionally get whipped with solar flares.


17 posted on 08/06/2021 2:28:05 PM PDT by Nateman (If the Left is not screaming , you are doing it wrong.)
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To: Alas Babylon!

Yep, tidal locked and the solar flares that red dwarfs unleash make them very bad candidates in the search for ET life. The fact is, so far, Earth’s solar system is looking like a very rare and special place when compared with all the other solar systems we’ve found thus far.


18 posted on 08/06/2021 2:32:35 PM PDT by fatman6502002 ((The Team The Team The Team - Bo Schembechler circa 1969))
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To: BenLurkin

If we were to take the worst future projection of the AGW scare, and miracoulosely find a palnet with that climate, why would we want to send the time and effort to get there? Staying home and dealing with what we have makes more sense.
None of these planets are anywhere close to what the post climate change earth presents. It is unlikely we will ever find one and Mars is definitely not it.


19 posted on 08/06/2021 2:39:27 PM PDT by JeanLM (Obama proved melanin is just enough to win elections Trump proves being good is not enough..)
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To: fatman6502002

Yep, red dwarf. Meaning, it’s a flare star, roasting the planets with radiation and electromagnetic surges. Also, the planets orbit so closely, they’re tidally locked to the star. One side is like a hot oven, the other side a frozen wasteland.


20 posted on 08/06/2021 2:50:54 PM PDT by backwoods-engineer (But what do I know? I'm just a backwoods engineer.)
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