Scientists have discovered a super-Earth that has a mass four times the mass of our planet and takes only 10.8 days to complete an entire year.
According to NASA, an exoplanet, called Ross 508 b, has been discovered using a new infrared observation technology. It is located 37 light years away from us. Super-Earth “sneaks in and out of its star’s habitable zone”. It orbits a red dwarf star called Ross 508, just as the Earth orbits the Sun.
Discover alert!
A recently discovered exoplanet slips in and out of its star’s habitable zone. It’s 37 light-years from Earth and regarding four times the mass of our planet, making Ross 508b a super-Earth. A year there, 1 orbit, takes only 10.8 days! https://t.co/qmEDhIuS3Apic.twitter.com/MW7Cap45If– NASA Exoplanets (@NASAExoplanets) August 3, 2022
according to Opportunity Space.comThe proximity of this giant Earth to our planet means that it is ripe for an atmospheric investigation that might help researchers determine if life might exist around low-mass stars.
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Astronomers in Japan first discovered the giant Earth earlier this year in May. The results were part of the study titled “Super-Earth orbit near the inner edge of the habitable zone around M4.5-dwarf Ross 508”.
According to the research, an exoplanet orbits around the star at a distance that provides temperatures conducive to the formation of water on the planet’s surface. This indicates that Ross 508 b is the star’s habitable region.
Researchers spotted the planet near a faint star using the Subaru Telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) in Hawaii. Since the star is smaller than the Sun, Ross 508 b orbits it every 10.8 days. Furthermore, Ross 508 is significantly dim, so the super-Earth is 1.4 times more exposed to solar radiation than Earth is experiencing.
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According to the study, Ross 508 accounts for regarding 18% of the mass of the Sun making it the weakest and smallest star in orbit around the world.
The star was discovered using the radial velocity method. This technique used to locate exoplanets is more effective at finding giant worlds such as gaseous planets that orbit at a distance that is too hot for liquid water.