1. catdynamics
  2. told you so

told you so

By catdynamics on April 25, 2007.

earlier this year I was a co-author on a paper which, among other things, attempted to "predict" which of the currently known planetary systems we might expect to find future planets in the habitable zones - specifically terrestrial or "super Earth" planets.

Gliese 581 was on our list (p. 33)

I like it.

Tags
astro

IF the gravity if 5x that of Earth, does that increase the temperature at the surface?

The gravity does not scale just with mass but also with the inverse square of the radius.
We don't know what the planet is made of, but for plausible compositions you infer a surface gravity of maybe 50-70% higher than the Earth.

All things being equal that'd give you a deeper, higher atmospheric pressure at the surface, which could give you a higher effective surface temperature. Kinda depends on a lot of things.

Thanks! I was telling people I'd weigh 750 pounds on that planet, but I could probably stagger along at 300. Briefly.