Astronomers have brought into being several planets nearby stars with correspondences to the planets in our solar system that could be capable of supporting life. An arrangement of planets with resemblances to our solar system has been found by astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.
The star is termed L 98-59 and is 35 light-years away from Earth.
There may be five planets in orbit all over the place comprising an ocean world, a possible fit for human habitation planet, and one of the lightest-ever exoplanets ever revealed.
Exoplanets are the planets that orbit other stars that reside outside of our solar system.
The innovative research of planets nearby stars was distributed in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. The astronomers have carried out the research analysis and are resolute that three of the planets take in some sort of water content and could be capable of supporting life. The two planets neighboring the star are probable to be desiccated and rocky with just small amounts of water.
The star, known as L 98-59, is 35 light-years away from Earth. There may be as many as five planets nearby stars and orbit around it, including an ocean world, a potentially habitable planet, and one of the lightest-ever exoplanets ever discovered. Exoplanets are those that orbit stars outside of our solar system.
The research regarding planets that could be capable of supporting life was published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
During these new observations of the system, astronomers determined that three of the planets include some type of water content. The two planets closest to the star are likely to be dry and rocky with just small amounts of water. These terrestrial planets are similar to Earth or Venus and are adjacent adequate to the star to be warmed by it.
In the meantime, the third planet’s mass could be 30% water which advocates that it might be an ocean world, akin to some of the moons found across our solar system.
Astronomers are detecting the first Moon-forming disk around an exoplanet
The astronomers executed NASA’s planet-hunting TESS mission, or Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite in 2019 to pattern these three planets at the outset. The space-based observer is capable to distinguish exoplanets employing the transit method which processes the slope in light that happens when a planet passes in front of its star.
Astronomers have an additional technique of finding exoplanets identified as radial velocity which analyzes the vibration that befalls when orbiting planets generate gravitational tugs on a host star. Measurements from the TESS mission were combined with the radial velocity measurements made using the Very Large Telescope to learn more about these planets.
María Rosa Zapatero Osorio, an astronomer at the Centre for Astrobiology in Spain, said,
“This is a step forward in our ability to measure the masses of the smallest planets beyond the Solar System. During the research, team members also discovered a fourth planet and the hint of a potential fifth planet that wasn’t captured in the previous data from TESS. That fifth planet may be at the right distance from the star to allow liquid water to form on the surface. This is known as the star’s habitable zone. The planet in the habitable zone may have an atmosphere that could protect and support life.”
The star hosts rocky planets like Earth and Venus, which are close enough to the star to be warm. Astronomers intend to study the atmosphere of the planet to determine biosignatures such as oxygen and methane. Determination of the biosignatures can point towards scientific evidence for the presence of past or current life, however, current telescopes lack the power to study atmospheres. This will further prove that planets nearby stars could be capable of supporting life.
According to the researchers,
“The findings around the star dubbed as L 98-59 could be a sign of things to come for modern astronomy.”
In the future, it is expected that astronomers might be able to discover more using the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) when it becomes operational in 2027.
The best and most significant finding is supposing the mass of planets nearby stars to assist in comprehending the constituents of the planet using the radial velocity method.
The least possible possessions mandatory for the radial velocity method are the planet’s mass and radius.
The discovery of planets nearby stars that could be capable of supporting life is incredible. However, there is still a lot to come in the exploration of space and the verification of its research.
Sources
https://www.geo.tv/latest/363829-astronomers-discover-planetary-system-close-to-ours
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/05/world/nearby-star-exoplanet-discovery-scn/index.html
