Astronomers Discover Earth-sized 'Lava Planet'

Two teams of astronomers have, for the first time, measured an Earth-sized exoplanet, a planet they say should not exist. But the planet, known as Kepler-78b, is not likely to support any kind of life as we know it. The temperatures on the planet would be scorching as it circles its star every eight-and-a-half hours at a distance of less than one million miles – one of the tightest known orbits.  The orbit is 40 times closer than Mercury’s, for example. Temperatures on the surface ...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - jeudi 31 octobre 2013