Gliese 581e
Exoplanet orbiting Gliese 581
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Discovery
The planet was discovered by an Observatory of Geneva team led by Michel Mayor, using the HARPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 m (140 in) telescope in La Silla, Chile. The discovery was announced on 21 April 2009. Mayor's team employed the radial velocity technique, in which the orbit size and mass of a planet are determined based on the small perturbations it induces in its parent star's orbit via gravity.
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Characteristics
With a minimum mass of about 1.9 Earth masses, Gliese 581e was the least massive exoplanet known around a normal star at the time of discovery in 2009, with only PSR B1257+12 A being less massive. A 2024 study determined the orbital inclination of the planet, allowing its true mass to be determined, which is about 30% greater than the minimum mass at about 2.5 Earth masses.
Gliese 581e completes an orbit around its parent star in 3.15 days. At an orbital distance of just 0.028 AU (4,200,000 km) from its parent star, it orbits further in than the habitable zone. Although scientists think it probably has a rocky surface similar to Earth, it is also likely to experience intense tidal heating similar to (and likely more intense than) that affecting Jupiter's moon Io.