News Excerpt:
In a paper published in Nature Astronomy, the discovery of a new Earth-like exoplanet named SPECULOOS-3b was announced as part of NASA’s SPECULOOS (Search for Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) programme.
- The SPECULOOS project searches for potentially habitable exoplanets around the smallest and coldest stars of the solar neighbourhood.
About SPECULOOS- 3b:
- The Earth-like exoplanet SPECULOOS-3b’s distance from Earth is 55 light-years.
- The planet orbits an ultra-cool red dwarf.
- This red star has a lifespan that is 100 times that of our sun. It is also 1000 times cooler and dimmer than our sun, and similar in size to Jupiter.
- The exoplanet is like Earth in its rocky composition, size and topography.
- It takes 17 hours to orbit the red star, which means one year on SPECULOOS-3b is just 17 Earth hours.
- It orbits much closer to its ultra-cool red star than Earth does to the Sun, exposing it to high radiation. This likely prevents an atmosphere from forming, eliminating the possibility of liquid water and, consequently, life.
- It appears to be tidally locked, i.e. the exoplanet has endless days and nights. Its one side always faces the star, residing in perpetual daytime. While, the other side always faces away from the star, residing in perpetual night-time just like the dark side of our moon.
- Significance of discovery:
- The discovery of this Earth-like planet could help in the study of exoplanetary geology as well as understanding the planet’s surface mineralogy and research on its potential atmosphere.
- Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists plan on executing multiple research projects to try and understand this planet and its surroundings.
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Red Dwarfs:
NASA : The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is America’s civil space program and the global leader in space exploration.
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