2007-04-27 06:35:49 · 7 answers · asked by chani a 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Gliese 581c. That is really just a catalog number, it doesn't have a name. It is the 581st star in the Gliese catalog of nearby stars and the "c" means it is the 3rd planet orbiting that star. Like most nearby stars, it is a red dwarf that is too dim to see without a telescope, so nobody has bothered to name it.
2007-04-27 06:39:49 · answer #1 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Catalog number Gliese 581 c
Gliese is the name of the astronomer who started the catalog.
I thought 'c' meant that it was the 3rd planet discovered around 581, not the 3rd planet *from* 581.
Discovery order = c... not planet order from the star.
That really messes things up, because you can have planets a, b, c, d, e and they aren't in that order from their star.
.
2007-04-27 07:06:44 · answer #2 · answered by tlbs101 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What new planet? Selena (which I believe you are refering to) is not a planet. It is a planetoid, a small 'planet'. Pluto was also demoted to this class. It is a hunk of ice from the Ort cloud, at the edges of the Solar system. Also, planets must be named after a Roman god, unofficially. If it was a planet, it would be a Roman god, not an Inuit (Eskimo) one.
2007-04-27 07:22:51 · answer #3 · answered by Shanann 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Gliese 581 c" is the name of the newly discovered planet, or more correctly it's catalog number.
2007-04-27 06:40:35 · answer #4 · answered by Brian K² 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Broomhida.
2007-04-27 08:26:14 · answer #5 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
so far the name is (x)
2007-04-27 06:45:42 · answer #6 · answered by thomas m 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
581c
2007-04-27 06:38:24 · answer #7 · answered by Spilamilah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋