First light from a super-Earth spotted
Scientists on a planetary-heat-seeking mission have detected the first infrared light from a super-Earth — in this case, a planet some 40 light-years away. And according to their calculations, 55 Cancri e, a planet just over twice the size of Earth, is throwing off some serious heat. At a toasty 3,700 degrees Fahrenheit, the planet is hot enough to liquefy steel. And there’s not much relief from the scorching heat: Researchers at MIT and other institutions say the planet may lack reflective surfaces such as ice caps, instead absorbing most of the heat from its parent star — much as Earth’s dark oceans trap heat from the sun. Since the planet’s discovery in 2004, scientists have unearthed a number of its properties; the new findings, published in the current issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters, expand the physical profile of 55 Cancri e. The planet orbits the star 55 Cancri, part...