http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org)—NASA's Kepler mission Monday announced the discovery of 461 new planet candidates. Four of the potential new planets are less than twice the size of Earth and orbit in their sun's "habitable zone," the region in the planetary system where liquid water might exist on the surface of a planet. http://phys.org/news276863638.html Space & Earth Tue, 08 Jan 2013 10:34:06 EST news276863638 Located 43 light-years away in the southern constellation Pictor, the orange-colored dwarf star HD 40307 has previously been found to hold three "super-Earth" exoplanets in close orbit. Now, a team of researchers poring over data from ESO's HARPS planet-hunting instrument are suggesting that there are likely at least six super-Earth exoplanets orbiting HD 40307—with one of them appearing to be tucked neatly into the star's water-friendly "Goldilocks" zone. http://phys.org/news271582974.html Space & Earth Thu, 08 Nov 2012 07:43:14 EST news271582974 (Phys.org)—New research led by Yale University scientists suggests that a rocky planet twice Earth's size orbiting a nearby star is a diamond planet. http://phys.org/news269106912.html Space & Earth Thu, 11 Oct 2012 08:00:08 EST news269106912 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using high-powered lasers, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and collaborators discovered that molten magnesium silicate undergoes a phase change in the liquid state, abruptly transforming to a more dense liquid with increasing pressure. The research provides insight into planet formation. http://phys.org/news248104977.html Physics Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:05:09 EST news248104977 When last we checked in on Gliese 581d, a team from the University of Paris had suggested that the popular exoplanet, Gliese 581d may be habitable. This super-Earth found itself just on the edge of the Goldilocks zone which could make liquid water present on the surface under the right atmospheric conditions. However, the team’s work was based on one dimensional simulations of a column of hypothetical atmospheres on the day side of the planet. To have a better understanding of what Gliese 581d might be like, a three dimensional simulation was in order. Fortunately, a new study from the same team has investigated the possibility with just such an investigation. http://phys.org/news224156922.html Space & Earth Mon, 09 May 2011 10:48:55 EST news224156922 (PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of astronomers today revealed details of a "super-exotic" exoplanet that would make the planet Pandora in the movie Avatar pale in comparison. http://phys.org/news223273345.html Space & Earth Fri, 29 Apr 2011 05:22:54 EST news223273345 In December 2009, astronomers announced the discovery of a super-Earth known as GJ 1214b. At the time, they reported signs that the newfound world likely had a thick, gaseous atmosphere. Now, a team led by Jacob Bean (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) has made the first measurements of GJ 1214b's atmosphere. However, the measurements raise as many questions about the planet's atmospheric composition as they answer. http://phys.org/news210432192.html Space & Earth Wed, 01 Dec 2010 13:23:49 EST news210432192 (PhysOrg.com) -- Astronomers from the California Institute of Technology and other institutions, using the highly sensitive 10-meter Keck I telescope atop Hawaii's Mauna Kea, have detected an extrasolar planet with a mass just four times that of Earth. The planet, which orbits its parent star HD156668 about once every four days, is the second-smallest world among the more than 400 exoplanets (planets located outside our solar system) that have been found to date. It is located approximately 80 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Hercules. http://phys.org/news182606610.html Space & Earth Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:04:29 EST news182606610 Super Earths are named for their size, but these planets - which range from about 2 to 10 Earth masses - could be superior to the Earth when it comes to sustaining life. They could also provide an answer to the ‘Fermi Paradox’: Why haven’t we been visited by aliens? http://phys.org/news178821471.html Space & Earth Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:38:28 EST news178821471 (PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of scientists has found that giant exoplanets orbiting very close to their stars could lose a quarter of their mass during their lifetime. The team found that planets that orbit closer than 2% of an Astronomical Unit (AU), the distance between the Earth and the Sun, may lose their atmospheres completely, leaving just their core. http://phys.org/news159557321.html Space & Earth Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:29:12 EST news159557321