Two planets identified as most similar to Earth
The most recently discovered one is almost twice as large as Earth, making it the smallest exoplanet -- for extra-solar planet -- found to date. The second one was found in 2007, but new observations have shown that it is the only exoplanet to date that orbits its star in the so-called habitable zone, where water remains a liquid. Thus, it is the only exoplanet discovered that is likely to have oceans.
The identification of the small planet "is a remarkable discovery and bodes well for our eventual discovery of a true Earth-like, habitable planet," astronomer Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Washington wrote in an e-mail.
It "is the most exciting discovery in exoplanets so far," added astronomer Geoffrey W. Marcy of UC Berkeley via e-mail. "It shows that nature makes such small planets, probably in large numbers."
The small planet, called Gliese 581 e, has an estimated mass equal to 1.9 Earths and orbits its sun every 3.15 days, the team reported at an astronomical meeting at the University of Hertfordshire in Britain. Because it is so close to Gliese 581, it is blisteringly hot, and any gases or liquids that it might have carried have long since dissipated, leaving only uninhabitable rock.
In February, French astronomers said they had discovered an even smaller planet, called CoRoT-Exo-7b, that has an estimated mass equal to 1.7 Earths, circling a different star. But experts said the data for Gliese 581 e is more convincing.
The other three planets in the Gliese system have masses of 16, five and seven Earths. The one with a mass of seven Earths, called Gliese 581 d, was initially thought to have an orbital period of 80 days, which would put it just on the outer edge of the habitable zone.
Recent refinements of the data, however, show that it has an orbit of only 66.8 days, which places it well within the habitable zone, astronomer Stephane Udry of Geneva University told the meeting. Because of its distance from Gliese 581, moreover, it must have a significant amount of water and other gases, he added. It could have oceans thousands of meters deep, he said.
The team is continuing to monitor Gliese 581 in hopes that the orbital planes of the planets will bring them between the star and Earth, which will allow astronomers to learn more about their composition.
Bartz lights fire under Yahoo engineers
So new Chief Executive Carol Bartz promised Tuesday as she announced first-quarter financial results and described the impression she's now begun trying to make on the Internet pioneer. Instead of an across-the-board cut, Yahoo's layoff of about 675 people is intended to enable new hiring and investments in the company's bigger Internet properties.
Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz
(Credit: Yahoo)"We have good engineers but have to hire more and get them focused on the right stuff. It's probably the most important thing Yahoo's going to do to really become a big strong growing international company," Bartz said during a conference call to discuss the company's lackluster first-quarter results.
Specifically, she said the company will hire engineers to bring Yahoo's major properties onto a unified global platform rather than its current variety of different systems for different countries. Today's scattered technology infrastructure has prevented Yahoo from adapting quickly and adding new features, especially outside the United States, she said.
The choice shows Bartz isn't taking a quick-fix approach to Yahoo's problems. First comes engineering, then comes a better experience for Yahoo users, and only then comes the financial return. "All that investment will pay off, I believe, with more innovation, faster and better user engagement, and the stuff we need to be a hot site. If we're a hot site, the advertisers will follow," she said.
And Bartz cautioned that the revamp isn't going to be complete soon.
"To fully globalize all our platform is probably a couple-year program," Bartz said. "You can't underestimate the past focus the company had on the U.S. market...The international properties almost had to fend for themselves."
As an example, Bartz pointed to a revamped Yahoo Music site that opens up to content from YouTube, iTunes, Amazon, and other sites and lets Yahoo members share their music-related activity with their friends. That revamp wasn't possible internationally, she said.
Venting frustration
During the call, Bartz generally stuck to her script, reining her characteristically salty language. But some of her frustration with Yahoo's sluggish pace shone through at the end of the hour-long call.
Yahoo's engineering focus "was sort of scattered to the winds. There were engineers in almost every country, and way too many product people. We had one product management person for every three engineers," Bartz said. "We had a lot people running around but nobody fucking doing anything!"
Projects like the Yahoo Open Strategy have been more than a year in the making and only are arriving gradually. Yahoo is a big property, and changes necessarily come slowly as the company tries to figure out what works and doesn't as it tows its massive user base toward new technology, but meanwhile, rival Google touts its experimental "launch early, launch often" philosophy.
Even as Google expands into telephone services, Web browsers, mobile phone operating systems, general-purpose cloud computing infrastructure, and any number of other projects, Bartz is keeping Yahoo focused on its core assets: a number of high-traffic Web properties.
Bartz specifically pointed to Yahoo's home page, sports, news, finances, mail, search, mobile, and entertainment sites as the companies focus, saying the company will deliver a "wow experience for our users."
Patience, patience
Patience could be hard to come by. Yahoo's first-quarter revenue, excluding commissions paid to partners, declined 14 percent from $1.352 billion to $1.156 billion
