NASA discovers a strange planet the size of Earth in a habitable zone – Enseñame de Ciencia

NASA discovers an exoplanet similar in size to Earth. (Image: NASA).

Satellite data recently allowed NASA to discover a strange planet of a size very close to ours that orbits in the habitable zone of its star. The exoplanet is 95% the size of Earth and is likely to be rocky, and since it is in a habitable zone it might have liquid water on its surface.

Researchers have used data obtained from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to report the discovery of a new alien world. The exoplanet officially identified as “TOI 700 e” is probably rocky and 95% the size of Earth, and it orbits within the habitable zone of its star. The habitable zone is known as a region or range of distances in which there might be liquid water on the surface of a planet.

Previously, three other planets had been discovered in this system, called TOI 700 b, c and d. Planet d also orbits in the habitable zone. After another year of TESS observations, astronomers discovered TOI 700 e. The system is 100 light years from us. As reported by NASA collaboratorsthis is the second time an Earth-sized world has been discovered in a distant planetary system using NASA’s TESS.

“This is one of the few systems with multiple small, habitable planets that we know of,” Emily Gilbert, a postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California, who led the work, said in a statement. “This makes the TOI 700 system an interesting additional monitoring possibility. The planet is regarding 10% smaller than planet d, so the system also shows how additional TESS observations help us find ever smaller worlds.”

The discovery of such systems with Earth-sized worlds not only helps scientists find candidates for alien life, but also helps us learn more regarding the history of our own solar system. TOI 700 e, is particularly interesting, it takes 28 days to orbit its star, which puts planet e between planets c and d in the so-called optimistic habitable zone.

The optimistic habitable zone is defined as the range of distances to a star in which there might be liquid water on the surface at some point in a planet’s history. TOI 700 d orbits in this region. However, it is too early to draw conclusions, we must wait for the details of future observations.

TOI 700 is a small, cool M dwarf star located regarding 100 light-years away in the southern constellation of Dorado. The researchers mention that future observations may shed more information on this rare system.

“TESS has just completed its second year of observing the northern sky,” said Allison Youngblood, a research astrophysicist and associate TESS project scientist at Goddard. “We look forward to the other exciting discoveries hidden in the mission’s trove of data.”

The findings were presented at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle. and an article is being prepared for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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