Most planets similar in size and mass to Earth are believed to orbit red dwarfs. Moreover, the commonly discovered rocky planets are located in the habitable zone of their star.
This means that there may be suitable conditions for the existence of liquid water on the surface of such worlds. The authors of a new study published on the arXiv preprint server analyzed data from the TESS space telescope and discovered two new planets. They belong to the super-Earth class and have similar characteristics to each other, writes Phys.
The TESS space telescope uses the transit method to search for new planets outside the solar system, called exoplanets. So far, the telescope has discovered more than 7,200 potential exoplanets. Scientists have discovered that 543 objects from this list are indeed planets.
The TESS telescope observes dips in starlight as a potential planet flies past a star. Astronomers then analyze the spectrum of this light and come to definitive conclusions about what type of object it is.
A new analysis of telescope data has allowed astronomers to discover two new Earth-like exoplanets classified as super-Earths.
This means that such worlds are larger in mass and size than our planet, but smaller than Neptune. Scientists believe the newly discovered planets could be rocky worlds or even water planets, but more research is needed to confirm these findings.
Astronomers also found that both planets are close to the inner limit of their stars’ habitable zones, meaning they could try to search for potential alien life. The fact is that these planets orbit red dwarf stars and they are colder than the Sun, although they can emit more dangerous radiation.
According to scientists, the exoplanet TOI-6002 b is located at a distance of about 105 light-years from us. It is about 65% larger than Earth and about 4 times its mass.
The planet’s orbital period is 10.9 Earth days and the planet is located at a distance of about 9 million km from its star. This is very close, as the Earth is 150 million km away from the Sun. The average temperature on Earth, as data shows, is about 48 degrees Celsius.
The second Earth-like planet TOI-5713 b is located about 134 light-years away from us. It is about 77% larger than Earth and about 4.3 times its mass.
The planet’s orbital period is 10.44 Earth days, and the planet is also at a distance of about 9 million km from the red dwarf. The average temperature in this world is about 74 degrees Celsius.
