Gliese 581g: Latest among the Goldilocks’ Planets Discoveries

Another Goldilocks’ Planet, the Gliese 581g has been detected in our own galactic zone. This planet’s mass is about three times that of the earth, a sign that it has a distinct surface and gravity. It orbits around its star in just 37 days which is a clear indication of how near it is to its own star. However, it does not rotate on its axis thus one side is always bright with sunlight while the other side is always in darkness.

The term Goldilocks Planet is coined after the story of Goldilocks and the Tree Bears where the main character Goldilocks finally settled on food and things that are “just right”, i.e. porridge not too hot or too cold, chair and bed not too big or too small. Similarly, other planets mistaken as “just right for life” were initially those with atmosphere that is not too cold or too hot, with size that is not too big or too small, and with distance from its sun that is not too far or too near.

With the Gliese 581g, the research team of Paul Butler of Carnegie Institution in Washington and Professor Steven Vogt of University of CA were both excited for the possibility of the existence of life in the plant. Not only because it falls on the “goldilocks” or habitual zone, but also because the temperature there is suitable for liquid water hence capable of life sustenance. These findings were part of the result of on an 11-years research based in Hawaii sponsored by the NASA and the National Science Foundation.

Although this planet is within the habitual zone, there is no way people could benefit from it once the earth became irreversibly damaged by climate change. Why? Because it is about 120 trillion miles away. Several generations would pass before any space ship could possibly reach it. However, the continuing search for a Goldilocks Planet is a search for the ultimate truth –that other life forms exist in the universe, rather than for human colonization.

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