Astronomers discover planet in habitable zone 11 light-years
Astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized planet about 11 light-years away. The planet, Ross 128 b, is likely in the ‘habitable zone’ of red dwarf star Ross 128, theoretically giving a relatively good chance of extraterrestrial life.
The newly discovered planet takes just 9.9 days to complete its orbit around Ross 128 and is about 20 times closer to its star compared to Earth. In our own solar system, such a relatively short distance from the sun would make the planet completely uninhabitable because of the radiation from the sun and the excessively high temperatures. This is not the case with Ross 128 b, because the star Ross 128 is a not too active red dwarf. These are the coolest, least bright, and most common stars in the Universe. The surface temperature of Ross 128 is about half that of our sun.
Ross 128 b receives only 1.38 times as much radiation from the star as Earth receives from the sun. The astronomers think that the temperature on the planet is between -60 and 20 degrees Celsius. Therefore, there could be water, which is seen as an important condition for the presence of life. The researchers are not yet sure whether the planet is actually in the habitable zone.
The planet has at least 1.35 times the mass of Earth and closely resembles the nearest exoplanet Proxima b. This planet was discovered in 2016 and is located at a distance of ‘only’ 4.24 light-years. Ross 128 b is now the second-closest ‘temperate’ exoplanet at 11 light-years. Despite its similarities to Ross 128 b, Proxima b is not a good candidate for possible extraterrestrial life, because the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri is very active and sends huge solar flares into space. The associated radiation may be so intense that Proxima b’s atmosphere has been blown away, potentially making life on the planet impossible.
The discovery was made with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher instrument, located in Chile, at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory. This instrument makes it possible to detect the small shifts of stars caused by the gravity of planets orbiting the stars. NASA is using a different technique to discover exoplanets with the Kepler Space Telescope, namely mapping small dips in the brightness of the light of stars, which could indicate the presence of a planet orbiting the star. slides.
The researchers want to study the planet further in the future and the Extremely Large Telescope under development is very suitable for this. This telescope, which will have a mirror with a diameter of 40 meters and should be operational in 2024, will be able to detect certain biomarkers, such as oxygen and other signs of life, thanks to various spectrographs.
In July, astronomers at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico picked up strange radio signals that appeared to be from Ross 128. They were unable to immediately explain the signals and did not rule out extraterrestrial life as the source, although that was considered the most unlikely scenario. . A few days after the discovery, after further investigation, the researchers concluded that the signals were caused by one or more geostationary satellites.
The scientists published their discovery in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, under the title A temperate exo-Earth around a quiet M dwarf at 3.4 parsecs.