Scientists Discover Earth-like Exoplanet 137 Light Years Away
A team of astronomers led by Georgina Dransfield from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom has discovered a rocky exoplanet similar to Earth and located about 137 light years from us. The planet, known as TOI-715, was located by NASA’s TESS probe, which stands for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in Spanish.
What makes this exoplanet particularly intriguing is that it is located in the habitable zone around its red dwarf sun, orbiting it in just 19 days. Unlike our Sun, red dwarfs emit much less heat, making their habitable zone much smaller. The frequency of TOI-715’s orbit around its sun made it easier for astronomers to identify it.
TOI-715 is classified as a “super Earth”, as its size is 1.5 times larger than Earth and it is the smallest planet in the area explored by the TESS probe. To learn more about the planet’s characteristics, such as its atmosphere or whether it houses water, scientists will have to use other types of tools such as the James Webb Space Telescope.
This discovery opens up new possibilities for understanding the potential for life on other planets and could provide valuable insight into the mechanisms behind Earth-like conditions on exoplanets.