- Astronomers have discovered a new Earth
- They believe it can host life
Such a discovery does not happen often. Scientists have discovered an Earth-like planet that could host life. It is only tens of light years away from our Sun.
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Discovery of an Earth-like planet
Astrophysicists from the German Max Planck Institute in collaboration with NASA have made a groundbreaking discovery. They found a planet in space that could be suitable for life. It is very similar in size to our Earth.
The planet, designated Wolf 1069 b, orbits its star in the so-called habitable zone, that is, the region where water can be kept in a liquid state on rocky planets. It is located just 31 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. To explain: A light year is the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in one year (almost ten trillion kilometers).
“When we analyzed the data from Wolf 1069, we discovered a clean, low-amplitude signal that appears to be a planet roughly the size of Earth,” said scientist Diana Kossakowski of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. “It orbits its star in 15.6 days at about one-fifteenth the distance between the Earth and the Sun.”
However, the conditions for life on this rocky planet are not nearly as favorable as on Earth, because it receives only 65% of the radiation that Earth receives from the Sun. This means that its surface is probably much cooler.
It could be suitable for life
Assuming the planet is mostly rocky, the average temperature could be around -23 degrees Celsius. With an atmosphere similar to Earth’s 13 degrees Celsius, which is a comfortable temperature for the emergence of life, the scientists explain.
It is not yet clear whether the exoplanet actually has an atmosphere. It also appears to be likely tidally locked, meaning that one side of it is always facing the star Wolf 1069, while the opposite side is always night.
Like our Moon, it is divided into the far side and the far side. On one of them eternal day reigns, while the other is forever in darkness. If Wolf 1069 b hosts life, it is only on its star-facing day side.
Still, the team led by Diana Kossakowski remains optimistic because the planet has a similar mass to Earth. Of the more than 5,000 exoplanets discovered so far, only 1.5% have a mass less than Earth, and only about a dozen are in the habitable zone of their stars, where surface water could exist, scientists said. Simply put, Wolf 1069 b is a true rarity among known exoplanets.
Preview photo source: NASA, source: CNET, Science Alert, Futurism
2023-12-25 20:20:33
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