Two new worlds of probable rocky mineral goodness have just been found orbiting a star close to our own cosmic neighborhood.
This makes a huge difference to exoplanet science: Spectrographic data can reveal whether or not a star is moving on the spot.."What we're looking for is any slight movement of that star that could indicate a planetary-mass object is tugging on it."
Transit data provides a physical size, based on how much light is blocked from the star; and spectral data reveals how massive the exoplanet is, based on how much the star moves. Both sets of data can be used to calculate the exoplanet's orbit. At those sizes and masses, their densities suggest that the two exoplanets are likely to be rocky worlds.Sadly, even though the star is cooler and dimmer than the Sun, the proximity of the planets to HD 260655 means the worlds would be way too hot for life as we know it. HD 260655 b has an average temperature of 435 degrees Celsius , and HD 260655 c is a milder but still scorching 284 degrees Celsius .
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