All About Gliese

While it's still one of the best bets available, it is still uncertain as to whether Gliese 581c is truly "Earth like…."   So when will we know?  According to a Nature article published on the 3rd of May, "…if the geometry is right, [Sasselov's] team should see the star dim on 7 May as the planet passes in front of it" (Nature 447,  Sanderson). 

This observation is extremely important to continuing research about Gliese 581c.  If the transit acrosss Gliese 581 is made, scientists will be able to determine the planet's density and maybe even it's atmospheric composition. 

We'll see how this pans out in the next week or so…..