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A super-Earth is an extrasolar planet with a mass higher than Earth's, but substantially below the mass of the Solar System's smaller gas giants Uranus and Neptune, which are 15 and 17 Earth masses respectively. The term super-Earth refers only to the mass of the planet, and does not imply anything about the surface conditions or habitability. The alternative term "gas dwarfs" may be more accurate for those at the higher end of the mass scale, as suggested by MIT professor Sara Seager, although in actual parlance, mini-Neptunes seems more common.

Definition

In general, super-Earths are defined exclusively by their mass, and the term does not imply temperatures, compositions, orbital properties, habitability, or environments similar to that of Earth. A variety of specific mass values are cited in definitions of super-Earths. While sources generally agree on an upper bound of 10 Earth masses, (~69% of the mass of Uranus, which is the Solar System gas giant with the least mass), the lower bound varies from 1 or 1.9 to 5, with various other definitions appearing in the popular media. Some authors further suggest that the term be limited to planets without a significant atmosphere, or planets that have not just atmospheres but also solid surfaces or oceans with a sharp boundary between liquid and atmosphere, which the four giant planets in our solar system do not have. Planets above 10 Earth masses are termed giant planets. By informal convention, giant planets may be subdivided into "super-Jupiters" (more than 2-3 Jupiter masses up to brown dwarf mass), "Jupiters" (like Jupiter and Saturn, greater than 30 Earth masses), and "Neptunes" (of a mass similar to Uranus and Neptune, of 10-30 Earth masses).

Discoveries

The Solar System does not contain examples of this category of planets, as the largest terrestrial planet in the Solar System is the Earth, and all larger planets have at least 14 times Earth's mass.

First super-Earth found

The first super-Earths were discovered by Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail around the pulsar PSR B1257+12 in 1992. The two outer planets of the system have masses approximately four times Earth—too small to be gas giants.

The first super-Earth around a main sequence star was discovered by a team under Eugenio Rivera in 2005. It orbits Gliese 876 and received the designation Gliese 876 d (two Jupiter-sized gas giants had previously been discovered in that system). It has an estimated mass of 7.5 Earth masses and a very short orbital period of just about 2 days. Due to the proximity of Gliese 876 d to its host star (a red dwarf), it may have a surface temperature of 430–650 kelvin and may support liquid water.

First super-Earth in habitable zone

In April 2007, a team headed by Stéphane Udry based in Switzerland announced the discovery of two new super-Earths around Gliese 581, both on the edge of the habitable zone around the star where liquid water may be possible on the surface. With Gliese 581 c having a mass of at least 5 Earth masses and a distance from Gliese 581 of 0.073 astronomical units (AU; 6.8 million mi, 11 million km), it is on the "warm" edge of the habitable zone around Gliese 581 with an estimated mean temperature (without taking into consideration effects from an atmosphere) of −3 degrees Celsius with an albedo comparable to Venus and 40 degrees Celsius with an albedo comparable to Earth. Subsequent research suggests Gliese 581 c has likely suffered a runaway greenhouse effect like Venus, but that its sister planet, Gliese 581 d, does in fact lie within the star's habitable zone, with an orbit at 0.22 AU and a mass of 7.7 Earths.

More notable super-Earth discoveries by year

2006

Two further super-Earths were discovered in 2006: OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb with a mass of 5.5 Earth masses, which was found by gravitational microlensing, and HD 69830 b with a mass of 10 Earth masses.

2008

The smallest super-Earth found as of 2008 is MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb. The planet was announced by astrophysicist David P. Bennett for the international MOA collaboration on June 2, 2008. This planet has approximately 3.3 Earth masses and orbits a brown dwarf. It was detected by gravitational microlensing.

In June 2008, European researchers announced the discovery of three super-Earths around the star HD 40307, a star that is only slightly less massive than our Sun. The planets have at least the following minimum masses: 4.2, 6.7, and 9.4 times Earth's. The planets were detected by the radial velocity method by the HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher) in Chile.

In addition, the same European research team announced a planet 7.5 times the mass of Earth orbiting the star HD 181433. This star also has a Jupiter-like planet that orbits every three years.

2009

Planet COROT-7b, with a mass estimated at 4.8 Earth masses and an orbital period of only 0.853 days, was announced on 3 February 2009. The density estimate obtained for COROT-7b points to a composition including rocky silicate minerals, similar to the four inner planets of Earth's solar system, a new and significant discovery. COROT-7b, discovered right after HD 7924 b, is the first super-Earth discovered that orbits a main sequence star that is G class or larger.

The discovery of Gliese 581 e with a minimum mass of 1.9 Earth masses was announced on April 21, 2009. It is the smallest extrasolar planet discovered around a normal star and the closest in mass to Earth. Being at an orbital distance of just 0.03 AU and orbiting its star in just 3.15 days, it is not in the habitable zone, and may have 100 times more tidal heating than Jupiter’s volcanic satellite Io.

Additionally, Gliese 581 d, at 0.2 AU with a 67-day orbital period, has been confirmed to be within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star, making it the first exoplanet where the existence of liquid water is a real possibility.

A planet found in December 2009, GJ 1214 b, is 2.7 times as large as Earth and orbits a star much smaller and less luminous than our Sun. "This planet probably does have liquid water," said David Charbonneau, a Harvard professor of astronomy and lead author of an article on the discovery. However, interior models of this planet suggest that under most conditions it does not have liquid water.

By November 2009, a total of 30 super-Earths had been discovered, 24 of which were first observed by HARPS.

2010

Discovered on January 5, 2010, a planet HD 156668 b with a minimum mass of 4.15 Earth masses, is the second least massive planet detected by the radial velocity method. The only confirmed radial velocity planet smaller than this planet is Gliese 581 e at 1.9 Earth masses (see above). On August 24 astronomers using ESO’s HARPS instrument announced the discovery of a planetary system with up to seven planets orbiting a Sun-like star, HD 10180, one of which, although not yet confirmed, has an estimated minimum mass of 1.35 ± 0.23 times that of Earth, which would be the lowest mass of any exoplanet found to date orbiting a main-sequence star. Although unconfirmed, there is 98.6% probability that this planet does exist.

The National Science Foundation announced on September 29 the discovery of a fourth super-Earth (Gliese 581 g) orbiting the M dwarf star Gliese 581. The planet has a minimum mass 3.1 times that of Earth and a nearly circular orbit at 0.146 AU with a period of 36.6 days, placing it in the middle of the habitable zone where liquid water could exist and midway between the planets c and d. It was discovered using the radial velocity method by scientists at the University of California at Santa Cruz and the Carnegie Institution of Washington. However, the existence of Gliese 581 g has been questioned by another team of astronomers, and it is currently listed as unconfirmed at The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia.

2011

On 2 February, the Kepler Space Observatory Mission team released a list of 1235 extrasolar planet candidates, including 68 candidates of approximately "Earth-size" (Rp < 1.25 Re) and 288 candidates of "super-Earth-size" (1.25 Re < Rp < 2 Re). In addition, 54 planet candidates were detected in the "habitable zone." Six candidates in this zone were less than twice the size of the Earth A more recent study found that one of these candidates (KOI 326.01) is in fact much larger and hotter than first reported. Based on the latest Kepler findings, astronomer Seth Shostak estimates "within a thousand light-years of Earth" there are "at least 30,000 of these habitable worlds." Also based on the findings, the Kepler Team has estimated "at least 50 billion planets in the Milky Way" of which "at least 500 million" are in the habitable zone.

On August 17, a potentially habitable super-Earth HD 85512 b was found using the HARPS as well as a three super-Earth system 82 G. Eridani. On HD 85512 b, it would be habitable if it exhibits more than 50% cloud cover. Then less than a month later, a flood of 41 new exoplanets including 10 super-Earths were announced.

On December 5, the Kepler space telescope discovered its first planet within the habitable zone or "Goldilocks region" of its Sun-like star. Kepler-22b is 2.4 times the radius of the earth and occupies an orbit 15% closer to its star than the Earth to the Sun. This is compensated for however, as the star, with a spectral type G5V is slightly dimmer than the Sun (G2V), and thus the surface temperatures would still allow liquid water on its surface.

On 5 December 2011, the Kepler team announced that they had discovered 2,326 planetary candidates, of which 207 are similar in size to Earth, 680 are super-Earth-size, 1,181 are Neptune-size, 203 are Jupiter-size and 55 are larger than Jupiter. Compared to the February 2011 figures, the number of Earth-size and super-Earth-size planets increased by 200% and 140% respectively. Moreover, 48 planet candidates were found in the habitable zones of surveyed stars, marking a decrease from the February figure; this was due to the more stringent criteria in use in the December data.

On 2011, a density of 55 Cancri e was calculated which turned out to be similar to Earth's. At the size of about 2 Earth radii, it was the largest planet until 2014 which was determined to lack a significant hydrogen atmosphere.

On 20 December 2011, the Kepler team announced the discovery of the first Earth-size exoplanets, Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, orbiting a Sun-like star, Kepler-20.

Planet Gliese 667 Cb (GJ 667 Cb) was announced by HARPS on 19 October 2009, together with 29 other planets, while Gliese 667 Cc (GJ 667 Cc) was included in a paper published on 21 November 2011. More detailed data on Gliese 667 Cc were published in early February 2012.

2012

In September 2012, the discovery of two planets orbiting Gliese 163 was announced. One of the planets, Gliese 163 c, about 6.9 times the mass of Earth and somewhat hotter, was considered to be within the habitable zone.

2013

On January 7, 2013, astronomers from the Kepler Mission space observatory announced the discovery of Kepler-69c (formerly KOI-172.02), an Earth-like exoplanet candidate (1.5 times the radius of Earth) orbiting a star similar to our Sun in the habitable zone and possibly a "prime candidate to host alien life".

In April 2013, using observations by NASA's Kepler Mission, a team led by William Borucki, of the agency's Ames Research Center, found five planets orbiting in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star, Kepler-62, 1,200 light years from Earth. These new super-Earths have radii of 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.9 times that of Earth. Theoretical modelling of two of these super-Earths, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f, suggests both could be solid, either rocky or rocky with frozen water.

On June 25, 2013 Three “super Earth” planets have been found orbiting a nearby star at a distance where life in theory could exist, according to a record-breaking tally announced on Tuesday by the European Southern Observatory. They are part of a cluster of as many as seven planets that circle Gliese 667C, one of three stars located a relatively close 22 light years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpio, it said. The planets orbit Gliese 667C in the so-called Goldilocks Zone — a distance from the star at which the temperature is just right for water to exist in liquid form rather than being stripped away by stellar radiation or locked permanently in ice.

2014

In May 2014, previously discovered Kepler-10c was determined to have the mass comparable to Neptune. With the radius of 2.35, it is currently the largest planet likely to have a predominately rocky composition, representing the upper limit of super-Earths in terms of mass and radius.

Characteristics

Density and bulk composition

If a super-Earth is detectable by both the radial-velocity and the transit methods, then both its mass and its radius can be determined. Thus its average bulk density can be calculated. Super-Earths with low density (Mini-Neptunes) are inferred to be composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, while super-Earths of intermediate density are inferred to either have water as a major constituent (Ocean planets), or have a denser core enshrouded with an extended gaseous envelope. The last condition would be the most usual after measuring 65 super-Earths smaller than 4 Earth-radii: there is a trend where planets with radii up to 1.5 Earth radii increase in density with increasing radius, but above 1.5 radii the average planet density rapidly decreases with increasing radius, indicating that these planets have a large fraction of volatiles by volume overlying a rocky core. Calculations about the effect of the active XUV saturation phase of G-type stars over the loss of the primitive nebula-captured hydrogen envelopes in extrasolar planets, indicate that planets with a core mass of more than 1.5 Earth-mass (1.15 Earth-radius max.), most likely can not get rid of their nebula captured hydrogen envelopes during their whole lifetime. A super-Earth of high density is believed to be rocky and/or metallic, like Earth and the other terrestrial planets of the Solar System. A super-Earth's interior could be undifferentiated, partially differentiated, or completely differentiated into layers of different composition. Researchers at Harvard Astronomy Department have developed user-friendly online tools to characterize the bulk composition of the super-Earths.

Due to the larger mass of super-Earths, their physical characteristics differ from Earth's. A study on Gliese 876 d by a team around Diana Valencia revealed that it would be possible to infer from a radius measured by the transit method of detecting planets and the mass of the relevant planet what the structural composition of a relevant super-Earth is. For Gliese 876 d, calculations range from 9,200 km (1.4 Earth radii) for a rocky planet and very large iron core to 12,500 km (2.0 Earth radii) for a watery and icy planet. Within this range of radii the super-Earth Gliese 876 d would have a surface gravity between 1.9g and 3.3g (19 and 32 m/s²).

Additional studies, conducted with lasers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and at the OMEGA laboratory at the University of Rochester show that the magnesium-silicate internal regions of the planet would undergo phase changes under the immense pressures and temperatures of a super-Earth planet, and that the different phases of this liquid magnesium silicate would separate into layers.

Geologic activity

Further theoretical work by Valencia and others suggests that super-Earths would be more geologically active than Earth, with more vigorous plate tectonics due to thinner plates under more stress. In fact, their models suggested that Earth was itself a "borderline" case, just barely large enough to sustain plate tectonics. However, other studies determine that strong convection currents in the mantle acting on strong gravity would make the crust stronger and thus inhibit plate tectonics. The planet's surface would be too strong for the forces of magma to break the crust into plates.

Evolution

The new research suggests that the rocky centres of super-Earths are unlikely to evolve into terrestrial rocky planets like the inner planets of our Solar System because they appear to hold on to their large atmospheres. Rather than evolving to a planet composed mainly of rock with a thin atmosphere, the small rocky core remains engulfed by its large hydrogen-rich envelope.

Temperatures

Since the atmospheres, albedo and greenhouse effects of super-Earths are unknown, the surface temperatures are unknown and generally only an equilibrium temperature is given. For example, the black-body temperature of the Earth is 254.3 K (−19 °C or −2 °F ). It is the greenhouse gases that keep the Earth warmer. Venus has a black-body temperature of only 184.2 K (−89 °C or −128 °F ) even though Venus has a true temperature of 737 K (464 °C or 867 °F ). Though the atmosphere of Venus traps more heat than Earth's, NASA lists the black-body temperature of Venus based on the fact that Venus has an extremely high albedo (Bond albedo 0.90, Visual geometric albedo 0.67), giving it a lower black body temperature than the more absorbent (lower albedo) Earth.

Magnetic field

Earth's magnetic field results from its flowing liquid metallic core, but in super-Earths the mass can produce high pressures with large viscosities and high melting temperatures which could prevent the interiors from separating into different layers and so result in undifferentiated coreless mantles. Magnesium oxide, which is rocky on Earth, can be a liquid metal at the pressures and temperatures found in super-Earths and could generate a magnetic field in the mantles of super-Earths.

See also

References

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External links

• Media related to Super-Earths at Wikimedia Commons

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Planet Definition IAU Planetary science
Main topics	Exoplanet Exoplanet orbital and physical parameters Methods of detecting exoplanets Planetary system Planet-hosting stars
Sizes and types	Terrestrial Carbon planet Coreless planet Desert planet Dwarf planet Hycean planet Ice planet Iron planet (Super-Mercury) Lava planet Ocean world Mega-Earth Sub-Earth Super-Earth Gaseous Eccentric Jupiter Mini-Neptune (Gas dwarf) Helium planet Hot Jupiter Hot Neptune Gas giant Ice giant Super-Jupiter Super-Neptune Super-puff Ultra-hot Jupiter Ultra-hot Neptune Other types Blanet Brown dwarf Chthonian planet Circumbinary planet Circumtriple planet Disrupted planet Double planet Ecumenopolis Eyeball planet Giant planet Mesoplanet Planemo Planet/Brown dwarf boundary Planetesimal Protoplanet Pulsar planet Sub-brown dwarf Sub-Neptune Toroidal planet Ultra-cool dwarf Ultra-short period planet (USP)
Formation and evolution	Accretion Accretion disk Asteroid belt Circumplanetary disk Circumstellar disc Circumstellar envelope Cosmic dust Debris disk Detached object Disrupted planet Excretion disk Exozodiacal dust Extraterrestrial materials Extraterrestrial sample curation Giant-impact hypothesis Gravitational collapse Hills cloud Internal structure Interplanetary dust cloud Interplanetary medium Interplanetary space Interstellar cloud Interstellar dust Interstellar medium Interstellar space Kuiper belt List of interstellar and circumstellar molecules Merging stars Molecular cloud Nebular hypothesis Oort cloud Outer space Planetary migration Planetary system Planetesimal Planet formation Protoplanetary disk Ring system Rubble pile Sample-return mission Scattered disc Star formation
Systems	Exocomet Interstellar Exomoon Tidally detached Rogue planet Orbits Retrograde Trojan Mean-motion resonances Titius–Bode law
Host stars	A B Binary star Brown dwarfs F/Yellow-white dwarfs G/Yellow dwarfs Herbig Ae/Be K/Orange dwarfs M/Red dwarfs Pulsar Red giant Subdwarf B Subgiant T Tauri White dwarfs Yellow giants
Detection	Astrometry Direct imaging list Microlensing list Polarimetry Timing list Radial velocity list Transit method list Transit-timing variation
Habitability	Astrobiology Astrooceanography Circumstellar habitable zone Earth analog Extraterrestrial liquid water Galactic habitable zone Habitability of binary star systems Habitability of F-type main-sequence star systems Habitability of K-type main-sequence star systems Habitability of natural satellites Habitability of neutron star systems Habitability of red dwarf systems Habitability of yellow dwarf systems Habitable zone for complex life List of potentially habitable exoplanets Tholin Superhabitable planet
Catalogues	Nearby Habitable Systems Exoplanet Data Explorer Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia NASA Exoplanet Archive NASA Star and Exoplanet Database Open Exoplanet Catalogue
Lists	Exoplanetary systems Host stars Multiplanetary systems Stars with proto-planetary discs Exoplanets Discoveries Extremes Firsts Nearest Largest Heaviest Terrestrial candidates Kepler 1–500 501–1000 1001–1500 1501–2000 K2 Potentially habitable Proper names Discovered exoplanets by year before 2000 2000–2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Other	Carl Sagan Institute Exoplanet naming convention Exoplanet phase curves Exoplanetary Circumstellar Environments and Disk Explorer Extragalactic planet Extrasolar planets in fiction Geodynamics of terrestrial exoplanets Neptunian desert Nexus for Exoplanet System Science Planets in globular clusters Small planet radius gap Sudarsky's gas giant classification
Discoveries of exoplanets Search projects

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• Super-Earths
• Terrestrial planets
• Types of planet