Changes

*Gliese 581c is 14 times closer to its star than the Earth is to our Sun.  

*Gliese 581c is 14 times closer to its star than the Earth is to our Sun.  

*Gliese 581c has an estimated surface temperature between 0 and 40°C, the average surface temperature on Earth is around 15 °C.

*Gliese 581c has an estimated surface temperature between 0 and 40°C, the average surface temperature on Earth is around 15 °C.

*Gliese 581c is one of three planets so far discovered in the '''Gliese 581 system''', as opposed to the 9 planets in our solar system.

*Gliese 581c is one of three planets so far discovered in the '''Gliese 581 system''', as opposed to the 8 planets in our solar system.

The planet was discovered by the team of Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in [[Switzerland]] using the HARPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope in La Silla, [[Chile]], and is the smallest extrasolar planet discovered to date. Udry's team employed the radial velocity, technique, in which the size and mass of a planet are determined based on the small perturbations it induces in its parent star’s orbit via [[gravity]].

The planet was discovered by the team of Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in [[Switzerland]] using the HARPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope in La Silla, [[Chile]], and is the smallest extrasolar planet discovered to date. Udry's team employed the radial velocity, technique, in which the size and mass of a planet are determined based on the small perturbations it induces in its parent star’s orbit via [[gravity]].