Earth-like water worlds: two new planets discovered
Most planets similar in size and mass to Earth are thought to orbit red dwarfs. Moreover, rocky planets that are often discovered are located in the habitable zone of their star.
This means that there may be suitable conditions for liquid water to exist 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. To date, the telescope has discovered more than 7,200 potential exoplanets. Scientists have found 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 kind of object it is.
A new analysis of telescope data has allowed astronomers to discover two new Earth-like exoplanets that are 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 located near the inner boundary of the habitable zone of their stars, which means they can try to look for potential extraterrestrial life. The fact is that these planets revolve around red dwarf stars, and they are colder than the Sun, although they can release 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 in size and about 4 times its mass.
The planet’s orbital period is 10.9 Earth days, and it is located at a distance of approximately 9 million km from its star. This is very close, considering that the Earth is 150 million km away from the Sun. The average temperature on the planet, as data show, is approximately 48 degrees Celsius.
Second Earth-like planet TOI-5713 b is located at a distance of approximately 134 light years from us. It is about 77% larger than Earth in size and about 4.3 times its mass.
The planet’s orbital period is 10.44 Earth days, and it is also located at a distance of approximately 9 million km from the red dwarf. The average temperature on this world is approximately 74 degrees Celsius.
