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Press Room 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Archive All News News Conferences Public Affairs Office David Aguilar (617) 495-7462 Christine Pulliam (617) 495-7463 pubaffairs@cfa	Press Release Release No.: 2010-27For Release: Wednesday, December 01, 2010 Super-Earth Has an Atmosphere, But Is It Steamy or Gassy? The extrasolar planet GJ 1214b, shown here in an artist's conception with two hypothetical moons, orbits a red dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth. GJ 1214b has a radius of about 2.7 times that of the Earth and is about 6.5 times as massive, putting it squarely into the class of exoplanets known as super-Earths. Astronomers have confirmed that this alien world has a thick atmosphere, but can't yet determine whether the atmosphere is primarily hydrogen or a steamy soup of water vapor. Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA) High Resolution Image (jpg) Low Resolution Image (jpg) Back to Press Release
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