NASA Finds the Planetary 'Missing Link'

NASA has just found a planet, only 560 light years away, that they believe is the missing link between Earth and larger gas giants. This planet was found by NASA's Kepler spacecraft on Monday the 10th of January. The planet, named Kepler-10b, is 1.4 times the size of the Earth, and close to 4.6 times its mass. However, the planet is tidally locked, meaning one side is locked facing its red dwarf star, so the planet cannot support life. The sunny side has a temperature of around 1,370 Cº, much too hot for life to form. Because of this intense heat, it is unlikely that the planet harbors much of an atmosphere either. Any air or liquid on the surface would immediately vaporize and escape into space. Although this planet isn't inhabitable, it is an important link between the gas giants scientists usually find in space and our own planet.




For the full article: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/110110-nasa-kepler-10b-new-planet-found-rocky-science-space/