A group of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Germany discovered an exoplanet with a mass similar to that of Earth and that orbits in the habitable zone of the red dwarf star. Wolf 1069, 31 light years from our planet.
The team of astronomers was hopeful that Wolf 1069 bas they called it, can provide durable habitable conditions over a wide area on its dayside.
“When we analyzed the data from the star Wolf 1069, we discovered a clear, low-amplitude signal from what appears to be a planet about the mass of the Earth. It orbits the star in 15.6 days at a distance equivalent to one fifteenth of the separation between the Earth and the Sun ”Kossakowski said in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, a publication where the results of the discovery appear.
Despite the short distance to the star, Wolf 1069 b only receives about 65% of the radiation power that Earth receives from the Sunwhich makes the planet potentially suitable for life, according to the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.
The rotation is presumably tied to the orbit around the central star, so Wolf 1069 b always faces its central star on the same side. That means that on one side is the eternal day and on the other is the eternal night. For example, this is also the reason why the same side of the Moon is always visible from Earth.
What does it mean to be habitable?
Of course, it takes more than liquid water to create a habitable planet. As on Earth, an atmosphere that causes a natural greenhouse effect can help raise the average temperature above the 250 Kelvin (-23 °C) recorded for Wolf 1069 b. This value is for a simple bare rocky planet. Astronomers have calculated that with an atmosphere similar to Earth’s, the average temperature could rise by as much as 286 Kelvin (+13°C), so water remains liquid over a large area on the side of the planet facing the Earth. stars. Based on computer simulations using complex climate models, the team concludes that in addition, such an atmosphere would protect against high-energy electromagnetic radiation and particles originating from interstellar space or from the central star.
Red dwarf stars in particular are notorious for their activity, resulting in extreme stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation. Just like the sun affected Mars, they can erode a planet’s atmosphere, leaving its surface barren. Unlike Proxima Centauri, for example, with its two confirmed planets, Wolf 1069 appears to be harmless.
Rapid progress in the search for exoplanets
The first exoplanet was discovered about 30 years ago. Now, there are more than 5,000 planets of this type identified. However, only a dozen show characteristics similar to Wolf 1069 b. For example, at the beginning of the year NASA reported that it had discovered two new planets “Earth-mass” orbiting a red dwarf star only 16 light-years away.
The newly discovered exoplanet is located 31 light years from Earth. Of the exoplanets possibly suitable for life, it is the sixth closest to Earth in terms of distance.
According to the researchers, It has not yet been clarified whether favorable conditions for life actually exist there.
“We will probably have to wait another ten years,” explains Diana Kossakowski, Principal Investigator at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy. The so-called Extremely Large Telescope is currently being built in Chile. This could study the composition of the atmospheres of exoplanets and detect signs of life.