Gliese 581 d

Gliese 581 d is an extrasolar planet orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581. Due to its mass it can be categorized as a Super-Earth.

Discovery

The planet was discovered by the team of Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland using the HARPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope in La Silla, Chile. Udry's team employed the radial velocity technique, in which the size and mass of a planet are determined based on the small perturbations it induces in its parent star’s orbit via gravity.

References

Udry et al. (2007). "The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets, XI. An habitable super-Earth (5 M⊕) in a 3-planet system". Astronomy and Astrophysics preprint

External links

• Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia: Gl 581 d
• SIMBAD: V* HO Lib -- Variable Star

See also

• Gliese 581 b
• Gliese 581 c