Jakarta –
A team of astronomers led by Teruyuki Hirano from the Center for Astrobiology in Japan managed to find a planet which is almost the size of Earth. The planet was found 72 light years away.
“We have just discovered an exoplanet that is almost exactly the same size as Earth orbiting a small star not too far away,” said Hirano. Science Alert.
The exoplanet was later called K2-415b. These Earth-like planets formed and evolved in very different ways, in systems very different from Earth’s.
“Minor planets around M dwarfs are a good laboratory for exploring the diversity of atmospheres of rocky planets and the conditions under which habitable terrestrial planets can exist.”
Seen from the Kepler Planet Hunter Telescope
Planet The extrasolar was first spotted in data from the retired Kepler planet-hunting telescope in 2017 and appears again in data from Kepler’s successor, TESS.
The researchers then followed up by making infrared observations to see if they could detect faint ‘wobbles’ in the star’s motion. Because the star is slightly dragged in place by the exoplanet’s gravity.
This wealth of data reveals the existence of the world, as well as its characteristics. The amount of starlight that is blocked when the exoplanet transits can be used to calculate the planet’s radius. The amount of wobble gives its mass.
These two parameters can be combined to calculate the exoplanet density. And, of course, the periodicity of the transits reveals the orbital period of the exoplanet.
Planet K2-415b
The exoplanet K2-415b is 1.015 times the radius of Earth and orbits one of the smallest red dwarf stars found to host an Earth-sized world.
The star belongs to K2-415, measuring only 16 percent of the mass of the Sun. This is where K2-415b differs from Earth.
Although the exoplanet is about the size of Earth, it has a much larger mass, about three times that of Earth. This means that K2-415b is also denser than Earth.
Are Earth-like Planets Habitable?
Hirano explained that the planet has an orbital period of only four days.
“It’s true that the habitable zone of a red dwarf star can be much closer than the habitable zone of the Sun, with orbits measured in days, not months, but that’s a little too close for comfort,” he explained.
However, from a positional point of view, planet K2-415b is right inside the edge of K2-415’s habitable zone. This could mean there is still an atmosphere to investigate.
“It is also possible that K2-415 is a multi-planetary system; this raises the possibility of a currently undetected exoplanet in the habitable zone of the star,” said Hirano.
So astronomers concluded that the Earth-sized planet is showing no signs of life.
But the system on planet K2-415b represents an excellent target for atmospheric characterization planet extrasolar and advanced surveys that search for hidden worlds that have the potential to harbor life.
Watch Video “Astrobiologists Say Laughing Gas Can Be A Sign Of Life On Exoplanets“
(faz/nwk)
