Astronomers confirm the discovery of a new exoplanet that is similar in size to Earth. It may have an atmosphere in a star system 40 light-years away from the solar system
Data are available from the TESS space telescope as well as ground-based telescopes. This allowed astronomers from two research teams to detect the star Gliese 12 b, a rocky planet similar in size to Earth. It takes about 12.8 days to orbit the red dwarf Gliese 12, a star about a quarter the size of the Sun.
“We have discovered a temperate Earth-sized planet found using the transit method, which is the closest planet to Earth so far,” said Masayuki Kuzuhara, head of the research team. To discover planets outside the solar system. By watching the faint starlight as an orbiting planet moves in front of you
The discovery of Earth-sized planets at a not very far distance made astronomers interested in studying the composition of the planet's atmosphere, and it could be monitored using the spectroscopy instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope in the future.
Michael McElwain, an astrophysicist on the research team, explained why he studied the planet's atmosphere. “To understand the diversity and evolution of atmospheres on these planets, we currently have examples of rocky planets with suitable temperatures. There are still only a few near-Earth planets.”
One model of the star Gliese 12 b, if it did not have a dense atmosphere. It turns out that there may be a temperature on the surface of about 42 degrees Celsius, and the composition of the atmosphere on this exoplanet was studied. It may provide important information about the evolution of the atmosphere of Earth and Venus and the possibility of life on a planet. While the other was so hot it could melt lead.
The research from this discovery was published May 23 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)
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