Detecting rocky planet resembles Earth

Recently astronomers have discovered that an extrasolar planet has some very similar characteristics to Earth. They said new measurements provide solid evidence that it is a rocky planet and has similar material composition to Earth. This planet is also capable of silicate shells and iron cores.

Corot 7b is about the same size as Earth, but the daytime temperature reaches 1500 ^o C, much hotter than Earth's temperature. This also means that no life exists on this planet.

However, this finding proves that there may be other planets that have favorable conditions for life in the galaxy .

The 7b Corot orbits a star of the constellation Moneceros 500 light-years away from us. It is said to be covered by lava or ' boiling ocean '.

Proof of life?An illustration of Corot 7b, the first planet made of stone discovered outside the solar system.Scientists believe that for a life to exist, it needs a solid solid surface as a fulcrum.(Photo: Dailymail)

Although scientists have previously discovered more than 300 planets outside the solar system, 12 planets are thought to be solid, but Corot 7b is the smallest and the first to be identified. Get is made of stone.

' This is the day we have been waiting for a long time ,' said Sara Seager, a researcher with distant planets from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

' This is the first stone planet with the most reliable evidence outside our solar system, and it opens a new door for our research. We are really, really excited about this . '

Scientists believe that if life starts on a planet, it needs a solid surface to support. This new planet moves very close to its star - only about 1.5 million miles away. It is about 93 billion miles from our sun.

Researchers say the planet has five times the mass of Earth.

' This is the most astounding and moving scientific discovery ,' said Didier Queloz, Swiss astronomer who heads the observation team.

Swiss astrophysicist Didier Queloz took a picture with Corot 7b planetary illustration at Geneva Astronomical Station, Switzerland. (Photo: Dailymail)

Most exoplanets outside our solar system are giant gas planets like Jupiter or Saturn. Only about 12 of those planets are thought to be dense planets.

However, this is the first time scientists can have accurate data about an extrasolar planet, a planet made of stone .

To make new planetary measurements, astronomers used a high-precision radial planetary detector (HARPS) - a telescope-mounted spectrophotometer. of the Southern European Observatory at La Silla Observatory in Chile.

It took them up to 70 hours to measure the density of this planet. The latest weight measurements combined with diameter data reveal that the planet has an average density of about 5.6 gr / cm ³ , similar to the average physical density of the Earth. .

' This almost means that the planet must be a rocky planet, ' said Alans Boss, Carnegie Science Institute, Washington.

' Basically we live on a stone planet ', Artie Hatzes, Director of the Observatory of Thuringer, Germany, joined the observation team. ' From what we discovered, this planet seems like the Earth. However it is too close to its sun . '

The planet is only 2.5 million kilometers from its sun, 23 times closer than Mercury to the sun. It only takes about 20 hours to complete an orbit around the sun. Mercury, the closest solar planet in our solar system, takes about 88 hours to go all around the sun.

' It's too hot so they call it lava planet '. Dr. Hatzes said.

Corot 7b is too far away to be observed with conventional telescopes. Astronomers have calculated its weight, size and density by measuring the 'vibration' caused by its gravitational pull on its parent star.

Details of the planet's size and density have been announced at the European Planetary Science Conference in Barcelona.