Wolf 1061c

Wolf 1061c or WL 1061c is an exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf star Wolf 1061. It is the second planet in order from the star, and has an orbital period of 17.9 days. It is classified as a super-Earth exoplanet as its mass is about 4.3 times that of Earth.

Wolf 1061c is thought to be a rocky planet, with an estimated surface gravity of 1.6 times that on Earth. The planet's orbital distance of 0.084 AU (assuming mild eccentricity) lies at the inner edge of its star's habitable zone, which extends from approximately 0.073 to 0.190 AU (for comparison, Mercury orbits the Sun at 0.39 AU). It is the only planet of three in the Wolf 1061 system that may have water. However, because it is so close to the star, it is likely to be tidally locked, meaning one side permanently faces the star and the other side permanently faces away. Although this scenario could result in extreme temperature differences on the planet, the terminator line that separates the illuminated side and the dark side could potentially be habitable, as the temperature there could be suitable for liquid water to exist. Additionally, a much larger portion of the planet could also be habitable if it has a thick enough atmosphere to facilitate heat transfer away from the side facing the star.

In astronomical terms, the Wolf 1061 system is relatively close to Earth, at only 13.8 light years away. This makes it the closest known potentially habitable planet to Earth, yielding interest from astronomers.

The discovery was announced on 17 December 2015, following a study that used 10 years of archival spectra of the star Wolf 1061using the HARPS spectrograph attached to the ESO 3.6 m Telescope at the European Southern Observatory at La Silla, Chile.

Wolf 1061c orbiting in a 3 exoplanet star system (artist concept)

See also

• List of exoplanets
• List of potentially habitable exoplanets

External links

• Simulated view of the Wolf 1061 system created by the University of New South Wales