The alien planet 55 Cancri e is a rocky planet that orbits perilously close to its host star.
This artist's concept shows the super-Earth planet 55 Cancri e. It's a toasty world 41 light-years from Earth that rushes around its star every 18 hours.
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals the light from a "super-Earth" called 55 Cancri e.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope was able to detect a super Earth's direct light for the first time using its sensitive heat-seeking infrared vision. This image: In visible light, a planet is lost in the glare of its star (top view). When viewed in infrared, the planet becomes brighter relative to its star largely due to the fact that the planet's scorching heat blazes with infrared light.
This graphic illuminates the process by which astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have for the first time detected the light from a super-Earth planet, the alien world of 55 Cancri e 41 light-years from Earth.
A simulation of the silhouette of planet 55 Cancri e transiting its parent star, compared to the Earth and Jupiter transiting our sun, as seen from outside the solar system. The star 55 Cancri A is nearly a twin of the sun.
This wide-angle photograph of the night sky shows the location of 55 Cancri, a star where astronomers have found five planets, including a hot, dense super-Earth.
An artist's impression of the alien planet 55 Cancri e, with Earth in the foreground for comparison.
An artist's impression of the alien planet 55 Cancri e (right), next to Earth (left) for size comparisons.
An artist's impression of the surface of the alien planet 55 Cancri e, which is located about 40 light-years away from Earth.
The alien planet 55 Cancri e is a rocky world that orbits very close to its parent star. The multiplanet 55 Cancri system is located about 40 light-years away from Earth.
The alien planet 55 Cancri e orbits extremely close to its parent star. A new look at the exotic world suggests that the rocky world might not be a scorching hot wasteland, as was previously thought.
