Astronomers Identify a New Super-Earth They Say Could Be Habitable

Amaze Lab

TOI-715b is a recently discovered exoplanet orbiting very close to its host star. Astronomers say it’s a Super-Earth, one that is around 1.55 times the size of our planet and it could be habitable.

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:03 This is an artist's rendering of a planet which is relatively nearby,

00:07 called TOI-715b.

00:09 Astronomers say it's a super-Earth,

00:11 one that is around 1.55 times the size of our planet,

00:15 and it's orbiting a red dwarf star.

00:17 However, the most interesting thing about the planet

00:19 is that experts say it could be habitable.

00:22 The planet resides only around 137 light-years away,

00:25 orbiting a star that is only around 25% the size

00:29 and mass of our Sun.

00:30 That means that despite its relative proximity to its system's central star,

00:34 with a year on TOI-715b only lasting 19 days,

00:38 life might still be able to survive there,

00:40 as its central star gives off far less heat and radiation than our own.

00:44 A planet which orbits in a habitable zone

00:46 means it's less likely to have had all of its water and atmosphere burned away,

00:49 that is, if it ever had those.

00:51 And this one will be of great interest to astronomers

00:53 because it's so close to us,

00:55 and because it circles the red dwarf star so closely.

00:57 Exoplanets are often identified

00:59 because of the light they block while transiting their host star,

01:02 meaning once every 19 days,

01:04 we can catch a glimpse and study it more closely.

01:06 Experts say this should allow for more detailed transmission spectroscopy,

01:10 allowing us to see what the planet is made of

01:12 and whether life might just be living there.

01:15 [Music]

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