#gliese 1214b

[kaisooficrec]

Gliese 1214b

Author: celerydragon

Genre: Romance, Mermaid AU, Fem!Kaisoo

Rating: pg-13

Length: 27k, on-going

Summary: Kyungsoo is a marine botanist, and the rest of her crew, Joonmyeon, the diplomatic leader, Jongdae, a marine biologist and Baekhyun, an oceanographer and part time geologist, are on a mission to investigate the water planet, known in the scientific community as Gliese 1214b.

Admin Moon’s Note: this is really well written! the good thing is that the last chapter didn’t end in a cliffhanger and it seems like the author doesn’t want to drop the fic. the AU is also unique!

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[alxndrasplace]

(NASA)  Extrasolar Super-Earth Gliese 1214b Might Hold Water Illustration Credit & License: ESO, L. Calçada

Might this distant planet hold water? Actually, given how close Gliese 1214b is to its parent star, any water, if it exists, would surely be in the form of steam. In the above artist's illustration, the super-Earth Gliese 1214b is imagined passing in front of its parent star, creating a mini-eclipse that alerted humanity to its presence. Gliese 1214b, also designated GJ 1214b, has been designated a super-Earth because it is larger than the Earth but smaller than a planet like Neptune. The entire Gliese 1214 planetary system is of the closest known systems to our Sun, located only 42 light years away. The parent star, Gliese 1214 is a slightly smaller and cooler version of our Sun. Recent observations from the Subaru telescope in Hawaii found very little scattering of blue light from the parent star by the planet. This appears most consistent with a planet that has a watery atmosphere -- although it is still possible that the super-Earth has clouds so thick that little of any color of light was scattered. Detecting water on exoplanets is important partly because most lifeforms on Earth need water to survive.

[inserbia]

Earth has a twin rich in water?

http://inserbia.info/news/2013/10/earth-has-a-twin-rich-in-water/

Scientists claim that they have identified a planet, so far nearest to Earth, that is six times larger than Earth and is covered with atmosphere rich with water, which includes its strange state in the form of plasma.

[alxndrasplace]

(Space.com)  Strange Super-Earth Planet Has 'Plasma' Water Atmosphere

A nearby alien planet six times the size of the Earth is covered with a water-rich atmosphere that includes a strange "plasma form" of water, scientists say.

Astronomers have determined that the atmosphere of super-Earth Gliese 1214 b is likely water-rich. However, this exoplanet is no Earth twin. The high temperature and density of the planet give it an atmosphere that differs dramatically from Earth.

"As the temperature and pressure are so high, water is not in a usual form (vapor, liquid, or solid), but in an ionic or plasma form at the bottom the atmosphere — namely the interior — of Gliese 1214 b," principle investigator Norio Narita of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan told SPACE.com by email.

(more...)

[thenewenlightenmentage]

Super-Earth’s Probable Water Atmosphere Revealed In Blue Light

Playing with the filters on a telescope can show us amazing things. In a recent case, Japanese astronomers looked at the star Gilese 1214 in blue light and watched its “super-Earth” planet (Gliese 1214 b, or GJ 1214 b) passing across the surface from the viewpoint of Earth. The result — a probable detection of water in the planet’s atmosphere.

Observations with the Subaru Telescope using a blue filter revealed the atmosphere does not preferentially scatter any light. If the Rayleigh scattering had been observed, this would have shown hydrogen in the atmosphere, researchers said. (On Earth, Rayleigh scattering of the atmosphere makes the sky blue.) Continue Reading