New Earth discovered


An international team of scientists led by Professors Guillem Anglada-Escudé and Paul Butler from the Carnegie Institution for Science in the U.S. has discovered a potentially habitable Super-Earth that's "just" 22 light years away. The new Super-Earth has a mass that is 4.5 times larger than that of our planet and it revolves around its parent star in 28 days - a star that is significantly smaller than ours. This remarkable new discovery suggests that habitable planets could exist in a wider variety of environments than previously believed.
Of the 750-odd exoplanets (extrasolar planets) discovered so far only very few can be considered "Super Earths This newly discovered example called GJ667Cc is rocky like Earth and is rich in heavy chemical elements such as iron, carbon and silicon. Positioned at a distance from Earth of 22 light years, corresponding to a bit over 129 trillion miles (209 trillion km), the planet can be considered to be on Earth's doorstep. Furthermore the planet is expected to absorb about the same amount of energy from its star that our Earth absorbs from the Sun. Surface temperatures are therefore expected to be similar to Earth's and the existence of water is quite possible.
"This planet is the new best candidate to support liquid water and, perhaps, life as we know it," said Anglada-Escudé.
The team made the discovery using public data from the European Southern Observatory, incorporated with new measurements from the Keck Observatory's High Resolution Echelle Spectrograph and the new Carnegie Planet Finder Spectrograph at the Magellan II Telescope.
The team is also hopeful that within the triple star system where GJ667Cc resides, there may be the presence of a gas-giant planet and an additional super-Earth with an orbital period of 75 days. However, further observations are needed to confirm these two possibilities.
"With the advent of a new generation of instruments, researchers will be able to survey many M dwarf stars for similar planets and eventually look for spectroscopic signatures of life in one of these worlds," explained Anglada-Escudé.
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Eco-Detergents: Nuts about Soap Nuts! Belinda Kersten Eco Detergent: Nuts About Soap Nuts Following on a short story of these little wonders of nature, ( In the HOMEMAKERSonline February Newsletter), I was inspired to investigate further and see where I can get my hands on some. There aren't many suppliers of soap nuts in South Africa, but I discovered one site that sells them, reasonably inexpensively. Visit www.naturesoap.co.za On this site you can discover the various uses of Soap Nuts as well as order them for R85 per 500g. Here are some of the uses of soap nuts that I’ve found have made them a staple in MY home: LAUNDRY The easiest way to use them for laundry, is to simply pop 3 to 6 soapnuts in the
small muslin bag (supplied with soap nuts from www.naturesoap.co.za), tie it closed, and throw it into the drum of your washing machine along with your articles of clothing that need washing. You can reuse one batch for 4 or 5 loads of laundry. Soapnuts are highly-effective and gentle at the same time. They will leave your laundry fresh and clean, colours bright and no need for fabric softener. When the Saponin has been used up the shells will look dark and feel mushy, at this point you can safely throw them on your compost heap or put them aside for making soap nut liquid (Instructions on making soap nut liquid on the site) Soapnuts are both Ecological and Economical when compared to 
other forms of detergents. 1 kg of soapnuts can be used for up to 150 loads of 
laundry. WASHING DISHES Use soapnut liquid for washing your dishes. Don’t be deceived by the lack of 
bubbles, since there are no artificial foaming agents so there will be very few 
if any lasting bubbles. This in no way impacts on the ability of the liquid to 
clean your dishes. If you are using a dish washer, just pop 3 shells in the bottom 
of the cutlery holder and some vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser and your dishes 
will come out sparkling clean. SHAMPOO Simply use soapnut liquid instead of regular shampoo, it is not as thick as 
standard shampoos, and does not create as much artificial lather, so beware that 
you do not use too much, as a little goes a long way. Soapnut shampoo will leave 
your hair clean, naturally. STEAM CLEANING SPOT TREATMENT Add 45ml to 4L hot water and use in a portable steam cleaner. Great for getting out 
urine smells and stains. A table spoon of bicarbonate of soda added to this is 
specially good for removing cat smells. SOAPNUTS: • Are imported from India (shipped, as this is more enviro-friendly than flying them in). • Have been growing in the wild for centuries in the area they are sourced them from. • Are harvested in a sustainable manner. Be sure to visit www.naturesoap.co.za and discover many more uses for these wonder-nuts, as well as order some for YOUR home! Also available on the site are ‘Enchantrix’ products, which are also Ethical & Eco Friendly’. Their range includes Body Care, Kids & Household products, all at a price to suit your economically-stunted-but-eco-conscious-budget :-)

Eco-Detergents: Nuts about Soap Nuts! Belinda Kersten Eco Detergent: Nuts About  Soap Nuts Following on a short story of these littl...

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