Two "Super-Earth" Planets Were Found, One Of Which Could Support Life

Sep, 2022 - By SMI

Two Earth-like planets have been found, one of which may provide the ideal circumstances for the emergence of life.

The two outer planets, LP 890-9b and LP 890-9c, orbit the star LP 890-9 and were discovered 100 light-years distant. They have been termed "super-Earths" because of their resemblance to Earth, although being a little more massive. The outer planet in the system, LP 890-9c, is 40% larger than Earth and orbits its star every 8.5 days, putting it in the "habitable zone," nevertheless (also known as the "Goldilocks zone").

Based on previous discoveries by NASA's Traveling Outer planet Survey Satellite, scientists at the University of Birmingham in the UK validated the biosphere of these two planets utilizing their SPECULOOS telescope, which refers to hunt for Suitable for life Planets Eclipsing ULtra-cool Stars (TESS).

When astronomers look for characteristics that sustain life, including the exoplanet's size and distance from its host star, in addition to the star's size and temperature, they naturally take our placement in the solar system into account.

The idea of the habitable zone, which states that a planet having subjects related and atmospheric circumstances to Earth might have a surface temperature that would prevent water to stay stable for billions of years, was explained by Amaury Triaud, a professor of exoplanetology. His SPECULOOS team just verified LP 890-9c's existence and the sister planet's habitability. According to a university news release, their results will be released in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Its star, TOI-4306, also known as SPECULOOS-2, is the second-coolest star known to support planets, trailing only TRAPPIST-1, which has seven planets the size of Earth. Because the harder it is for life to form at higher temperatures, stars like these, like our Sun, are thought to be the greatest for supporting life on their circling planets. They are also far more difficult to find because of this.