– This is the closest planet orbiting Earth, and it is a moderate-sized planet found so far.
An international research group decided to decide on this matter a report Which was published this week. Using satellites from NASA, they discovered a so-called exoplanet, located outside our solar system, and named it Gliese 12b.
New planets are constantly being discovered, but according to researchers, Gliese 12b is one of the few rocky planets we know of on which humans could potentially live.
The planet is also astronomically close to Earth, which makes it easier to study, but with today's technology it would take about 225,000 years to travel there.
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Hotter than Earth
– Of course, there will be no talk about going there right away, but it is interesting to find a planet so close to us. Astronomically speaking, this is right in the neighborhood, says astronomer Haakon Daly VG.
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The newly discovered planet orbits a small red dwarf star about 40 light-years from Earth.
The star is about 27% the size of our Sun, but Gliese 12b is closer to its star, at the ideal distance at which liquid water could exist.
Scientists do not yet know whether the planet actually has liquid water on its surface, or whether it has an atmosphere at all.
Based on the hypothesis that Gliese 12b has no atmosphere, researchers calculated its surface temperature to be around 42 degrees. A little warmer than on Earth, but cooler than on Venus.
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Connect James Webb
Gliese 12b's size is somewhere between Earth and Venus.
Being similar in size to Earth is absolutely essential for the possibility of life, partly because much smaller planets do not have enough gravity to maintain an atmosphere. On the other hand, larger planets can have more massive atmospheres, and thus have a very strong greenhouse effect.
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This planet could tell us something about why Earth remains habitable while Venus is not, says PhD student Larissa Palethorpe, who contributed to the study. CNN.
According to the news channel, the next step in the research will be to check the molecules present in the atmosphere, if Gliese 12b contains one of them.
Researchers plan to find out by using NASA's James Webb Telescope to capture starlight that might shine through the atmosphere.
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