the "new planet"?

Question

20 or so light years away.
it's all the rage (to those of us with a somewhat warped sense of reality) today.
it's within the orbital range that would support liquid water.
and who's gravity would be similar to that of earth (thus the interior dynamics).
or so we've been lead to believe.

the question is, would Venus also pass that test?

Answer 1

I think Venus is in a hotter position than Gliese 581 c is. While it is possible that a greenhouse effect on Gliese 581 c could render the entire planet too hot to be habitable (I don't think the 0 to 40 celsius takes the greenhouse effect into account), this is unlikely due to the fact that the planet is very close to its star and therefore probably tidally locked (so that one side of the planet always faces the star). Such planets would radiate so much heat away on the side facing away from the star that it would be unlikely for a greenhouse effect to warm it ALL past boiling point. Additionally, the greenhouse effect on Earth raises its temperature to only about 32 degrees past the theoretical temperature, so if Gliese 581 c's atmosphere is similar, it would still hit a maximum average temperature of 72 degress celsius, which is still below boiling point. So in other words, I suspect that it is significantly more habitable than Venus is, whether or not we take the greenhouse effect into account.

Answer 2

I think Venus is in a hotter position than Gliese 581 c is. While it is possible that a greenhouse effect on Gliese 581 c could render the entire planet too hot to be habitable (I don't think the 0 to 40 celsius takes the greenhouse effect into account), this is unlikely due to the fact that the planet is very close to its star and therefore probably tidally locked (so that one side of the planet always faces the star). Such planets would radiate so much heat away on the side facing away from the star that it would be unlikely for a greenhouse effect to warm it ALL past boiling point. Additionally, the greenhouse effect on Earth raises its temperature to only about 32 degrees past the theoretical temperature, so if Gliese 581 c's atmosphere is similar, it would still hit a maximum average temperature of 72 degress celsius, which is still below boiling point. So in other words, I suspect that it is significantly more habitable than Venus is, whether or not we take the greenhouse effect into account.

Answer 3

I think Venus is too close to the Sun to pass the test.

By the way, the planet has a minimum mass of 5 times Earth, and in theory, if it is a rocky, Earth like planet, it should have a diameter about 150% of Earth. This would make surface gravity more than double Earth's.

Answer 4

Regarding Gliese 581c, the thing that has interested the scientists most if the "believed" temperature range - 0C to 40C (32 F to 100F). The gravity is 2.2 that of earth. It is not known if there is water there

In regards to Venus, because of the green house effect, the cloud cover traps the heat of the sun , giving Venus temperatures up to 480°C. The gravity of Venus is 91% of earth's. The atmosphere of Venus is made up mainly of carbon dioxide, and thick clouds of sulfuric acid.

Answer 5

Actually I'm fairly certain that if you looked at the Solar System from far away and just asked which planets were capable of having liquid water on their surfaces then the Earth and Venus would both qualify. The difference between the two planets is mainly due to their atmospheres (although not for long thanks to global warming). This is why they also say that a planet is "theoretically" capable of supporting life (ie. it is not ruled out).

Answer 6

No. Venus is too close to the sun and it's atmosphere cannot support liqud water.

Answer 7

What test?

There is also another rumored planet. It has annorbit of about 3500 years.

Read books by Zecharia Sithin to find out more.

Answer 8

Check www.nasa.gov or National Geographic Society. I think no, but I'm not up on my Venus profile.