Gliese 667 Cc facts for kids
Gliese 667 Cc is a fascinating extrasolar planet, which means it's a planet outside our own Solar System. It's quite far away, about 22.18 light years from Earth. This planet orbits a star called Gliese 667 C. This star is a red dwarf, which is a type of star smaller and cooler than our Sun.
Gliese 667 C is part of a Gliese 667 triple star system. This means there are three stars orbiting each other! This star system is found in the constellation of Scorpius. Gliese 667 Cc is special because it's considered one of the most Earth-like planets found within 50 light years. It has an Earth Similarity Index (ESI) of 0.85, which is quite high. This planet is located in the warmer, inner part of its star's habitable zone. It absorbs about 90% of the light from its star, similar to Earth. However, it is also tidally locked.
Gliese 667 Cc was first discovered by the European Southern Observatory on November 21, 2011. They used a method called the "wobble method," also known as radial velocity. This method involves watching how a star "wobbles" slightly as a planet pulls on it while orbiting. On February 2, 2012, scientists from the University of Göttingen and the Carnegie Institution for Science confirmed that the planet truly exists.
Physical Features of Gliese 667 Cc
Gliese 667 Cc takes about 28 Earth days to complete one orbit around its star. It is quite close to its star, about 0.125 AU away. An AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. This distance places Gliese 667 Cc right within the habitable zone of its star. The habitable zone is the area around a star where temperatures are just right for liquid water to exist on a planet's surface.
This planet is much larger than Earth. Its mass is about 3.8 times that of Earth. Its size is probably around 50% bigger than Earth.
What is Tidal Locking?
Because Gliese 667 Cc is so close to its star, scientists believe it is tidally locked. This is similar to how our own Moon always shows the same side to Earth. If Gliese 667 Cc is tidally locked, it means one side of the planet would always face its star, making it permanently bright. The other side would always face away, making it permanently dark.
Tidal locking also means the planet would likely have no axial tilt. This is important because Earth's tilt gives us our seasons. Without an axial tilt, Gliese 667 Cc would not experience any seasons. The permanent day side would be very hot, and the permanent night side would be very cold. There might be a narrow band in between, called the "terminator zone," where temperatures could be more moderate.
See also
In Spanish: Gliese 667 Cc para niños
