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Name:
GJ 1214 b
GJ 1214 b
Method of detection:
Transit (MEarth Project)
Transit (MEarth Project)
Location:
Constellation of Ophiuchus
Constellation of Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth:
40 light-years
40 light-years
Planet type:
Super-Earth
Super-Earth
Star type:
Red dwarf
Red dwarf
name: GJ 1214 b
Standing on what little land exists here, you watch a giant red dwarf sink slowly into the horizon of a hot ocean. Waterspouts drop out of the sky, formed by a crushing atmosphere that won’t allow water to boil, even at 500 degrees Fahrenheit. You are on one of the smallest known exoplanets, GJ 1214b. On our own planet, life has been found in temperatures as high as 285 degrees F, so it should not be surprising if you notice moving shadows just beneath the surface of this super-Earth water world.
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