One planet may even have water and another may have some kind of atmosphere, researchers estimate.
Scientists have confirmed that they have discovered two previously unknown exoplanets orbiting a star like Earth.
The latest discovery is a rocky planet the size of Earth. Discovered using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, it is Webb’s first exoplanet discovery, Nasa says (you will switch to another service) in the press release published on Wednesday.
Formally classified as LHS 475 b, the planet is almost exactly the same size as our own, and is 99% the diameter of Earth.
– These first observations of a rocky planet the size of Earth open the door to many future opportunities to study the atmospheres of rocky planets with Webb, director of the astrophysics division at NASA’s Washington headquarters by Mark Clamp says.
LHS 475 b was found when objects discovered by NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) satellite, which searches for exoplanets, hinted at the planet’s existence. It was decided to observe the object with Webb’s Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), which found the planet easily and clearly.
LHS 475 b orbits closer to its star than any known planet in our solar system. However, its star, a red dwarf, is half as cool as our own Sun.
Because of this, it has been concluded that the planet may have some kind of atmosphere or gas atmosphere like the Earth has its atmosphere. However, the planet is a few hundred degrees warmer than Earth, so if clouds are detected, it could lead scientists to conclude that the planet is more like Venus in nature.
According to astronomers, LHS 475 b was found quite close, that is, about 41 light-years away from the constellation Octantus.
Another observation may reveal water
Another Earth-like exoplanet, TOI 700 e, has also been detected with the help of the TESS satellite. Nasa said on Tuesday (you will switch to another service).
According to astronomers, it is 95% the size of Earth and is probably rocky. TOI 700 e orbits its star in the so-called habitable zone at distances where liquid water can exist on the planet’s surface.
Astronomers previously discovered three planets in the same system, called TOI 700 b, c and d. TOI 700 e was later found between planets c and d.
The star of the planets is a small and cool M-type red dwarf and it is located about one hundred light-years away from us in the constellation Dorado in the southern hemisphere.
TOI 700 e orbits its star in 28 days. LHS 475 b orbits its star in just two days.