Astronomers Discover Another Potentially Habitable Super-Earth 21 That Is Lightyears Away
Astronomers have discovered a new potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanet close to the solar system that may have water on the surface and could harbor alien life. Scientists are now trying to characterize its atmosphere and other features to better assess its potential to support life.
The newly discovered planet, Gliese 625b, is particularly interesting because of its proximity. It is just 21 light years away and is the least massive known "super-Earths" with a mass of no less than 2.8 times that of Earth. It orbits the red dwarf star Gliese 625 (GJ625) in the Draco constellation.
Alejandro Suárez Mascareño, an astronomer at the Geneva Observatory and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in the Canary Islands, described the exoplanet as a small super-Earth that sits about 0.08 astronomical units at the inner edge of the habitable zone of its host star GJ625.
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The planet was detected using the 3.6-meter Galileo National Telescope at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. It may be rocky and might host liquid water if it's cool enough, depending on its atmospheric condition. It could also potentially have an Earth-like greenhouse effect.
The red dwarf GJ625 is among the 100 stars closest to the Sun. Red dwarfs are the most common stars in the universe that can host planets, though only a few hundred of them are known. Mascareño said they will keep looking if there are more rocky planets in orbit around GJ625.
Other information about Gliese 625b include its long rotation period of more than 70 days and takes 14 days to complete one orbit around its star. Scientists will try to observe the planet as it passes in front of its star to determine its density and radius, and to characterize its atmosphere.
The discovery of Gliese 625b improves man's chances of finding another habitable planet like Earth in the future by knowing where to look. The last exoplanet discovered that could potentially sustain life is LHS 1140b located 40 light years away. While it may be farther, the planet is 40 percent larger than Earth.
