Wed Apr 9
"MADRID (AFP) - Spanish astronomers Wednesday announced the discovery of the smallest planet discovered to date outside the solar system, located 30 light years from earth."...
..."GJ 436T" has a mass five times the size of Earth, which makes it the smallest extrasolar planet among the roughly 300 identified so far, Ribas said in announcing the discovery."...
..."He said the new planet is uninhabitable due to the distance that separates it from its star, which is far less than that between the earth and the sun.
To sustain life, a planet must have a mass similar to that of earth, liquid water on its surface, an atmosphere and a similar orbital distance from its star as that of the earth from the sun."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080409/sc_afp/spaceastronomyplanets_080409190123
