The new planet is almost the same size as Earth and has a fairly moderate temperature.
Scientists have used the TESS space telescope to discover a new Earth-like planet 40 light-years away. By cosmic standards this is a short distance.
Scientists believe this world could be habitable. The results of the study have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, reports Room.
The new planet, which has almost the same diameter as Earth, has been named Gliese-12 b. It orbits a small, cold red dwarf star 40 light years away.
The New World is believed to be a rocky planet and may have a composition similar to Earth. But most importantly, the planet orbits the star in the so-called habitable zone.
This means that there are conditions for the existence of liquid water on the planet and a fairly moderate temperature. This means that the planet could potentially be suitable for life as we know it.
But Gliese-12 b orbits too close to its star. Its orbital period is only 12.8 Earth days. However, the red dwarf star is much smaller and much cooler than the Sun. In addition, this star does not have strong activity and does not emit too strong radiation streams.
Scientists have discovered that Gliese-12 b receives about 85% of the radiation that Venus receives from the Sun. And despite this, the temperature on the planet, according to scientists, is about 42 degrees Celsius.
For comparison, the temperature on Venus is 464 degrees Celsius. Scientists also believe that the New World receives about 1.6 times more radiation from its star than Earth receives from the Sun. The average temperature on our planet is about 15 degrees Celsius.
Scientists still remain cautiously optimistic about the potential habitability of the planet Gliese-12 b. The fact is that it is not yet known whether an atmosphere is present. And if it exists, what exactly is it? And this is an important factor on which depends whether this planet can be suitable for life. For example, Venus, like Earth, is also in the Sun’s habitable zone, but this is a world with hellish conditions.
But scientists believe the planet Gliese-12 b may still be habitable. The study authors suggest that the planet may have an atmosphere, even if it is thin. But in fact, the lack of a dense atmosphere is a good sign for the existence of potential alien life there.
Scientists say that the temperature of 42 degrees Celsius is the average parameter for a planet without an atmosphere; if there is an atmosphere there, the average temperature may be lower.
Now we need to accurately determine the presence of an atmosphere on the planet Gliese-12 b and its chemical composition, which will provide clues as to whether this world is suitable for life or not. To do this, scientists will use the Webb Space Telescope.
