images

Earth and Gliese 581 c compared

by

Walter B. Myers/Novapix

Reference

a-exo99-30036

Date

2009-06-08

Gliese 581 c is believed to be about five times more massive than the Earth with a diameter about half-again as large as Earth's. Depending upon the planet's composition, whether mostly rock or a combination of rock a water, a visitor would experience a surface gravity between 1.25 to 2.2 times the Earth's. Gliese 581 c is about 20 light years away, a "next door neighbor" in stellar terms, but far beyond the reach of human visitors with today's technology.
This image of a rocky and variegated Gliese 581 c with an atmosphere and clouds is purely speculative.