Announced on Space.com on April 24, 2007, at 4:23pm ET, it has been determined that this exoplanet could support liquid water and possibly life.[ While evidence of liquid water has not been detected, the position of this planet—being in a position that might be within the host star's habitable zone—would allow for water to exist in its liquid state. However, subsequent habitability studies[ indicate that the planet likely suffers from a runaway greenhouse effect similar to Venus, rendering the presence of liquid water impossible.
These studies suggest that the third planet in the system, Gliese 581 d, is more likely to be habitable. Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer with the SETI institute, stated that on two previous occasions, Gliese 581 was looked at as a potential candidate for extraterrestrial intelligence, but both examinations revealed no proof. The confirmation of the exoplanet's position was determined using the HARPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-meter telescope, by applying the radial velocity detection method
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