The multiplanet 55 Cancri system is located about 40 light-years away from Earth. The alien planet 55 Cancri e is a rocky world that orbits very close to its parent star.
Astronomers say they have found a planet "55 Cancri e," twice the size of Earth, orbiting a star much like our Sun and visible to the naked eye in the constellation of Cancer. “Spitzer observed the phases of 55 Cancri e, similar to the phases of the Moon as seen from Earth. 55 Cancri e: Skies Sparkle Above a Never-Ending Ocean of Lava The two planets of Kepler-47, the first transiting circumbinary system -- a system with more than one planet orbiting a pair of stars.
Its discovery was announced in 2004.
In 2012, 55 Cancri e was featured in media reports for being a “diamond planet” after a study suggested that the planet was mostly made out of carbon, primarily as diamond and graphite. The second possibility is that 55 Cancri e has no atmosphere.
Its mass is 8.08 Earths, it takes 0.7 days to complete one orbit of its star, and is 0.01544 AU from its star. Planet 55 Cancri e was believed to be the first known planet to consist largely of diamond, due in part to the high carbon-to-oxygen ratio of its host star. The planet known as 55 Cancri e or Janssen was first discovered by astronomers in 2004 who were observing the planet’s star 55 Cancri A. Planet Janssen, or 55 Cancri e, orbits a star called Copernicus only 41 light years away. The mysterious planet Cancri 55 e has an atmosphere of hydrogen cyanide – a chemical weapon used by the Nazis during World War 2 – and a surface temperature of 2,000C. Space boffins believe it is made of carbon and its internal pressure is powerful enough that its core is … 55 Cancri e is a super Earth exoplanet that orbits a G-type star.
55 Cancri-e’ is one of only a few rocky worlds close enough for detailed observation.