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+--- Thread: Article Why “super-Earth” exoplanets are a scientific catastrophe (/thread-14073.html)
Why “super-Earth” exoplanets are a scientific catastrophe - C C - May 9, 2023
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/super-earth-catastrophe/
KEY POINTS (Ethan Siegel): Of the more than 5,000 exoplanets known, the most common class of exoplanet is one that has no representation in our own Solar System: the Super-Earth. Between 2 and 10 Earth masses — larger and more massive than Earth but smaller and less massive than Uranus or Neptune — it was the most common exoplanet class found by Kepler. Many have speculated that super-Earths may be even more conducive to life, as well as more common, than Earth-like planets. That's almost certainly untrue. Super-Earths are inappropriately named. These mini-Neptunes and stripped planetary cores are anything but life-friendly... (MORE - details)