#mega-earth

Map of an alternate Earth for Artifexian Podcast #26. 

New “Godzilla Planet” Is 17 Times Heavier Than Earth

  Among the haul of hundreds of new planets discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope, many have qualified as super-Earths — worlds that are several times larger than Earth, are rocky like our own, and reside in the habitable zones of their stars. But never before had scientists detected a world like Kepler-10c, a “mega-Earth” that looks a lot like home but is 17 times heavier than our planet.…

Harvard astronomers just found the "Godzilla of Earths"

On Monday, astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced their discovery of a so-called "mega-Earth": a planet called Kepler-10c that is about twice the size of and 17 times heavier than our own. And by all accounts, it shouldn't exist.

Scientists have just discovered the "Godzilla of Earths" — a new type of huge and rocky alien world about 560 light-years from Earth.

Dubbed a "mega-Earth," the exoplanet Kepler-10c weighs 17 times as much as Earth and it circles a sunlike star in the constellation Draco. The mega-Earth is rocky and also bigger than "super-Earths," which are a class of planets that are slightly bigger than Earth.

Theorists weren't actually sure that a world like the newfound exoplanet could exist. Scientists thought that planets of Kepler-10c's size would be gaseous, collecting hydrogen as they grew and turning into Jupiter-like worlds. However, researchers have now found that the newly discovered planet is rocky, Christine Pulliam, a spokeswoman with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, wrote in a statement announcing the find. [The Strangest Alien Planets Ever Found (Gallery)]

"This is the Godzilla of Earths!" the CfA's Dimitar Sasselov, director of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative, said of Kepler-10c in a statement. "But unlike the movie monster, Kepler-10c has positive implications for life."

The discovery of Kepler-10c was presented today here at the 224th American Astronomical Society meeting.

‘Mega Earth ‘ , rocky planet bigger than Earth discovered beyond the Solar System …

Boston: Astronomers have discovered a new type of rocky planet beyond the solar system that weighs more than 17 times as much as Earth while being just over twice the size, scientists said on Monday.

The so-called “mega-Earth” circles a very old star called Kepler-10, which is located about 560 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Draco.

The discovery, announced at the American…

Astronomers Find New Type of Planet: Rocky like Earth; Huge like Jupiter KEPLER-10c — The "Godzilla of Earths" Monday, June 2, 2014 - Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Astronomers announced today (June 2, 2014) that they have discovered a new type of planet - a rocky world weighing 17 times as much as Earth.

Theorists believed such a world couldn't form because anything so hefty would grab hydrogen gas as it grew and become a Jupiter-like gas giant. This planet, though, is all solids and much bigger than previously discovered “super-Earths,” making it a “mega-Earth.” “

We were very surprised when we realized what we had found,” says astronomer Xavier Dumusque of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), who led the data analysis and made the discovery.

“This is the Godzilla of Earths!” adds Dimitar Sasselov, director of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative. “But unlike the movie monster, Kepler-10c has positive implications for life.”

The newfound mega-Earth, Kepler-10c, circles a sunlike star once every 45 days. It is located about 560 light-years from Earth in the constellation Draco. The system also hosts a 3-Earth-mass “lava world,” Kepler-10b, in a remarkably fast, 20-hour orbit. 

Continue reading today's press release ...

Also reported by Smithsonian Science, Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the International Business Times, EurekaAlert, ... _______________________________________