Gliese 581 Goldilocks Planets May Not Be There!

In 2007, astronomers observing Gilese 581 found four planets of which 2 were in the "Goldilocks" zone.  In 2010 two more planets were added to the toll with planet 581g having the best odds of all of having life. 

However Paul Robertson, the leader of  a new research team, said,  his team found that the measurements used to detect planets could be affected by things like sunspots, leading false indications of  planets.

Robertson, using different spectrum,  have watched indications for some planets fade completely away while others brighten significantly.

Read the complete article HERE

Goldilock Zone Redefined

The Goldilocks Zone, according to the Wikipedia, is: 

• In astronomy and astrobiology, habitable zone (more accurately, circumstellar habitable zone ) is the scientific term for the region around a star within which it is theoretically possible for a planet with sufficient atmospheric pressure to maintain liquid water on its surface.

In the past this has been fairly easy to determine as, where ever the Earth was in reference to a yellow dwarf star, that was the habitual zone, and all other calculations could be made from this generality.  

Well Space.Com has an article that seems to throw a bit of a monkey wrench in to the mix.

In a recent article:

• Now scientists have redefined the boundaries of the habitable zone for alien planets, potentially kicking out some exoplanaets that were thought to fall within it, and maybe allowing a few that had been excluded to squeeze in.

What surprised me however was the redefined low end (how close a planet can be) for an Earth style system  was .99 AU.  Earth at 1 AU just barely makes the cut as a world almost too hot to maintain liquid water without it boiling away.  

Many astrobiologists are surprised at the closeness of Earth to the inside edge.  Plus with the new definition, many planets now fall into a to hot class not likely to harbor life.  

Read the Dvice article 

Goldilocks Planet! Just Right!

You have to figure that when Tim and Dan both find this article exciting, you have to pay attention.
Here is what is going on:

Astronomers, first time, have spotted a planet that circles a star called Gliese 581. It's about 120 trillion miles away. This planet is the first to be uncovered that orbits its' primary in the "life" zone. This zone allows for conditions that would support life as we know it. Not too far from its star, not too close. So it could contain liquid water. The planet itself is neither too big nor too small for the proper surface, gravity and atmosphere.

From the Yahoo article:

• (the planet) is about three times the mass of Earth, slightly larger in width and much closer to its star — 14 million miles away versus 93 million. It's so close to its version of the sun that it orbits every 37 days. And it doesn't rotate much, so one side is almost always bright, the other dark. Temperatures can be as hot as 160 degrees or as frigid as 25 degrees below zero, but in between — in the land of constant sunrise — it would be "shirt-sleeve weather..

This is not the first time we have heard of Gliese 581. It seems that six other planets have been found orbiting the star. Very solar indeed huh?

Read complete areticle here Yahoo article:
Wikipedia article on the Goldilocks zone