“Two super-Earths in habitable zone discovered outside our solar system”

SPACE — Astronomers have spotted two ‘super-Earths’ planets outside the solar system (exoplanets). Both orbit within the habitable zone of the nearest star. This zone is the range of distances from the planet from the star that allows liquid water to stabilize on its surface.

The two exoplanets, which are slightly larger than our Earth, surround a red dwarf star. The exoplanet was discovered by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) when they both crossed the face of their parent star. The star, named TOI-2095, is located about 137 light years from our solar system.

The transits of the two planets, TOI-2095 b and TOI-2095 c, cause a decrease in the star’s light. Analysis of the dips reveals the presence and characteristics of the two planets.

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As a red dwarf star, TOI-2095 is in the category of the largest star in the universe. Although cooler than our sun, red dwarfs experienced intense bursts of ultraviolet radiation and X-rays when they were young. The radiation from the explosion should be able to slam into the atmospheres of planets orbiting relatively close to it. As a result, scientists are not sure whether planets in the star’s habitable zone are still as hospitable to life as Earth.

That fact makes TOI-2095 b and TOI-2095 c tantalizing prospects for further investigation by astronomers. The distance between TOI-2095 b and its star is about one-tenth the average distance between Earth and the sun. The exoplanet, which is 1.39 times as wide as our planet but has up to 4.1 times the mass, takes about 17.7 days to orbit its star.

The second planet, TOI-2095 c, is slightly farther from its counterpart. It takes 28.2 days to orbit a red dwarf. This exoplanet has a diameter of about 1.33 times that of Earth and has a mass up to 7.5 times that of our planet. “Both planets likely have surface temperatures between 75 degrees Fahrenheit and 165 degrees Fahrenheit (24 to 74 degrees Celsius),” the researchers said.

The team behind the discovery is led by astronomer Felipe Murgas of the University of La Laguna in Spain. Murgas pointed out that the relatively long orbital periods of the two planets could provide important data that can help explain the processes that shape the composition of minor planets orbiting red dwarfs.

The discovery of these two exoplanets further demonstrates the power of NASA’s TESS mission. Since launching in April 2018, exoplanet hunters have discovered about 330 confirmed alien worlds, as well as more than 6,400 candidates awaiting further study or analysis.

The team now intends to follow up on the discovery of two Super-Earths by making precise measurements of their radial velocity. Using these measurements, they were able to better estimate the masses of TOI-2095 b and TOI-2095 c. This allows the planet’s density to be determined more accurately.

The measurements could also help astronomers find out whether these two planets have managed to retain their atmospheres. The team’s research was published on arXiv last month. Source: Space.com