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Potentially habitable 'exo-Venus' with Earth-like temperature discovered - EurekAlert


Astronomers have made the rare and tantalising discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet 40 light-years away that may be just a little warmer than our own world. The potentially-habitable planet, named Gliese 12 b, orbits its host star every 12.8 days, is comparable in size to Venus - so slightly smaller than Earth - and has an estimated surface temperature of 42°C (107°F), which is lower than most of the 5,000-odd exoplanets confirmed so far. That is assuming it has no atmosphere, however, which is the crucial next step to establishing if it is habitable. It may have an Earth-like atmosphere, one more akin to Venus - which experienced a runaway greenhouse effect that made it a 400°C (752°F) hellhole - no atmosphere, or perhaps a different kind of atmosphere not found in our solar system.

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