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

Gliese 581c
Gliese 581c /ˈɡliːzə/ or Gl 581c is a planet orbiting within the
Gliese 581c
Gliese 581 system. It is the second planet 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 10
Earth masses).

Gliese 581c gained interest from astronomers because it was Size comparison of Gliese 581c with Earth
reported to be the first potentially Earth-like planet in the and Neptune.
habitable zone of its star, with a temperature right for liquid (Based on selected hypothetical modeled
water on its surface, and by extension, potentially capable of compositions)
supporting extremophile forms of Earth-like life. However, Discovery
further research casts doubt upon the planet's habitability. It is
Discovered by Stéphane Udry et al.
tidally locked (always presents the same face to its primary) so if
life had a chance to emerge, the best hope of survival would be Discovery site La Silla Observatory
in "the Terminator zone." Discovery date 4 April 2007
24 April 2007 (announced)
In astronomical terms, the Gliese 581 system is relatively close to
Detection Radial velocity
Earth, at 20.37 light-years (192 trillion km or 119 trillion miles)
method
in the direction of the constellation of Libra. This distance, along
Orbital characteristics
with the declination and right ascension coordinates, give its
exact location in our galaxy. Semi-major 0.0721 ± 0.0003 AU
axis (10,786,000 ± 45,000 km)[1]
Eccentricity 0.00 ± 0.06[1]

Contents Orbital period 12.914 ± 0.002[1] d

Time of 2454759.2 ± 0.1[1]
Discovery periastron
Physical characteristics
Semi-amplitude 3.3 ± 0.2[1]
Mass
Radius Star Gliese 581[2]
Orbit
Tidal lock
Habitability and climate
Effective temperatures
Liquid water
Tidally-locked models
A Message from Earth
See also
References
Further reading
News media reports
Non-news media
 External links

Discovery
The team released a paper of their findings dated 27 April 2007, published in the July 2007 journal Astronomy
and Astrophysics.[3] At the time of discovery, it was reported to be the first potentially Earth-like planet in the
habitable zone of its star[2][4] and the smallest known extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star but on 21
April 2009, another planet orbiting Gliese 581, Gliese 581e, with an approximate mass of 1.9 Earth masses, was
announced. In the paper, they also announced the discovery of another planet in the system, Gliese 581d, with a
minimum mass of 7.7 Earth masses and a semi-major axis of 0.25 astronomical units.[1]

Physical characteristics

Mass
The existence of Gliese 581c and its mass have been measured by the radial velocity method of detecting
extrasolar planets. 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.[1] 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.[3] 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.[5]

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.[3][6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

Other scientists' views differ. Sara Seager at MIT has speculated that Gliese 581c and other five-Earth-mass
planets could be:[9]

"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 our direction, 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.[10]

The new research suggests that the rocky centres of super-Earths are unlikely to evolve into terrestrial rocky
planets like the inner planets of our Solar System because they appear to hold on to 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.[11][12]

Orbit
Gliese 581c has an orbital period ("year") of 13 Earth days[13] and its
orbital radius is only about 7% that of the Earth, about 11 million
km,[14] while the Earth is 150 million kilometres from the Sun.[15]
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.[3][6] 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,[16]
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
The orbits of the Gliese 581 system, as
an observer on the planet's surface looking at the sky than the Sun
per the 2009 analysis excluding planets g
appears to be from Earth's surface. and f. 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.[17][18] The most recent orbital fit to the system, taking stellar activity into account indicates a
circular orbit,[1] 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.[19] Because tidal forces are stronger when the planet is close to the star,
eccentric planets are expected to have a rotation period which is shorter than its orbital period, also called
pseudo-synchronization.[20] 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.[21]

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 the Jupiter's moon Io's, which could result in major geological
activity such as volcanoes and plate tectonics.[22]
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."[23] 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 K
to 1000 K (430 to 730  °C), like Venus today.[24] 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 3432 K to 3528 K, which leads to a large irradiance range
for the planet, even before eccentricity is considered.[25]

Effective temperatures
Using the measured stellar luminosity of Gliese 581 is of 0.013 times that of our Sun, it is possible to calculate
Gliese 581c's effective temperature a.k.a. black body temperature. (note: this probably differs from its surface
temperature). According to Udry's team, the effective temperature for Gliese 581c, assuming an albedo
(reflectivity) such as Venus' (0.64), would be −3  °C (27  °F), and assuming an Earth-like albedo (0.296), then it
would be 40 °C (104 °F),[13][3] a range of temperatures which overlaps with the range that 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 (307.40 K; 93.65 °F), but a surface temperature of 463.85 °C (737.00 K; 866.93 °F) (mainly
due to a 96.5% carbon dioxide atmosphere), a difference of about 430 °C (770 °F).[26]

Studies of the habitability (i.e. liquid water for extremophile forms of life)[27] conclude that Gliese 581c is likely to
suffer from a runaway greenhouse effect similar to that found on Venus, 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.[28] 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.[29]

Liquid water
Gliese 581c is likely to lie outside the habitable zone.[23][30] 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.[10]

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.[31] 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.[32]

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.[33] 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.[34][35]

As of 22 January 2015, the message has traveled 59.48 trillion kilometers of the total 192 trillion kilometers,
which is 31.0% of the distance to the Gliese 581 system.[36]

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;[37][38] 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".[39] 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.[40]

See also
COROT-7b
Habitable zone (Goldilocks phenomenon)
Interstellar travel
Planetary habitability

References
1. Robertson, Paul; Mahadevan, Suvrath; Endl, Michael; Roy, Arpita (3 July 2014). "Stellar activity masquerading as
planets in the habitable zone of the M dwarf Gliese 581". Science. 345: 440–444. arXiv:1407.1049 (https://arxiv.org/a
bs/1407.1049). Bibcode:2014Sci...345..440R (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014Sci...345..440R).
doi:10.1126/science.1253253 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1253253).
2. Than, Ker (24 April 2007). "Major Discovery: New Planet Could Harbor Water and Life" (http://www.space.com/scienc
eastronomy/070424_hab_exoplanet.html). space.com. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
3. Udry; et al. (2007). "The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets, XI. Super-Earths (5 and 8 M⊕) in a 3-planet
system". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 469 (3): L43–L47. arXiv:0704.3841 (https://arxiv.org/abs/0704.3841).
Bibcode:2007A&A...469L..43U (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007A&A...469L..43U). doi:10.1051/0004-
6361:20077612 (https://doi.org/10.1051%2F0004-6361%3A20077612).
4. Than, Ker (24 February 2007). "Planet Hunters Edge Closer to Their Holy Grail" (http://www.space.com/scienceastron
omy/070424_exoplanet_side.html). space.com. Retrieved 29 April 2007.