APOD: Extrasolar Super Earth Gliese 1214b... (2013 Sep 10)

[neufer]

An interesting story; though a little hard to believe! I couldn't stay outdoors at a fraction of that heat!

<<Saunas are an integral part of the way of life in Finland. The sauna is an important part of the national identity and those who have the opportunity usually take a sauna at least once a week. The traditional sauna day is Saturday. Taking a sauna begins by washing oneself up and then going to sit for some time in the hot room, typically warmed to 80–110 °C (176–230 °F). Water is thrown on the hot stones topping the kiuas, a special stove used to warm up the sauna. This produces steam, known as löyly, which increases the moisture and heat within the sauna. However, steam baths, such as the Turkish bath, where the humidity approaches 100%, will be set to a much lower temperature of around 40 °C (104 °F). The "wet heat" would cause scalding if the temperature were set much higher.>>

[Beyond]

It's the 21st Century, already, shouldn't we have starships by now?

Hollywood hogs them all.

[bystander]

Blue Light Observations Indicate Water-Rich Atmosphere of a Super-Earth
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan | Subaru Telescope | 2013 Sep 03

Multi-Color Transit Photometry of GJ 1214b through BJHK_s-Bands
and a Long-Term Monitoring of the Stellar Variability of GJ 1214 - Norio Narita et al

• Astrophysical Journal 773(2) 144 (2013 Aug 20) DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/773/2/144
  arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1305.6985 > 30 May 2013 (v1), 20 Jun 2013 (v2)

[neufer]

[b][color=#0000FF]Size comparison of GJ 1214 b with Earth (left) and Neptune (right).[/color][/b]

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[b][color=#0000FF]A Turkish bath provided for a harem[/color][/b]

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Blue Light Observations Indicate Water-Rich Atmosphere of a Super-Earth
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan | Subaru Telescope | 2013 Sep 03

<<GJ 1214 b may be cooler than any other known transiting planet prior to the discovery of Kepler-16b in 2011 by the Kepler mission. Its equilibrium temperature could be between approximately 120–282°C, depending on how much of the star's radiation is reflected back into space.>>

<<Saunas are an integral part of the way of life in Finland. The sauna is an important part of the national identity and those who have the opportunity usually take a sauna at least once a week. The traditional sauna day is Saturday. Taking a sauna begins by washing oneself up and then going to sit for some time in the hot room, typically warmed to 80–110 °C.

Steam baths, such as the Turkish bath, where the humidity approaches 100%, will be set to a much lower temperature of around 40 °C. The "wet heat" would cause scalding if the temperature were set much higher.>>