Two Earth-like exoplanets have been found in the habitable zone of a nearby star

It was discovered by a group of international astronomers Two “super-Earth” exoplanets orbit within the habitable zone of a nearby star. Each of these newly discovered worlds is slightly larger than our own planet, and they both orbit the same red dwarf star.

Exoplanets were discovered by Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) of NASA as they cross or “cross” the face of their parent star, TOI-2095, It is located about 137 light-years away from our solar system. This transit cause “dips” in the star’s light, Analysis of these falls revealed the presence of the two planets, as well as some properties.

As a red dwarf, TOI-2095 is part of the largest family of stars in the universe. Although colder than the sun, Red dwarf stars are known to experience violent bursts of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation in their youth. This radiation can destroy the atmospheres of planets that orbit relatively close. As a result, scientists weren’t sure whether planets with a red dwarf habitable zone, defined as the range of distances from a star where liquid water can remain stable on a world’s surface, are really hospitable to life, like life on Earth.

This makes The planets orbiting in this red dwarf’s habitable zone, designated TOI-2095 b and TOI-2095 c, respectively, are tempting possibilities for further investigation by astronomers. The distance between the red dwarf’s nearest planet, TOI-2095 b, and its star is about one-tenth the average distance between Earth and the Sun. The exoplanet, which is 1.39 times as wide as ours but 4.1 times as massive, takes about 17.7 Earth days to orbit the star.

The second planet in the system, TOI-2095 c, is a little further away from its counterpart; It takes 28.2 Earth days to orbit a red dwarf. The diameter of this world is 1.33 times that of Earth and its mass is 7.5 times that of our planet. The researchers said the planets’ surface temperatures are likely to range between 75 degrees Fahrenheit and 165 degrees Fahrenheit (24 to 74 degrees Celsius).

The team behind the discovery is posted to the science repository arXivled by astronomer Felipe Morgas of the University of La Laguna in Spain, pointed out The relatively long orbital periods of these two planets could provide important data that could help shed light on the processes that shape the formation of small planets orbiting red dwarfs.

Discovery These two exoplanets illustrate the power of NASA’s TESS mission. Since its launch in April 2018, the exoplanet hunter has found about 330 confirmed alien worlds, as well as more than 6,400 candidates waiting for further study or analysis.

The team now intends to follow up the discovery of the two super-Earths by making precise measurements of their radial velocity. With these measurements, they can better estimate the masses of TOI-2095 b and TOI-2095 c, allowing the planets’ densities to be determined more precisely. This can help astronomers see if these two planets have managed to preserve their atmospheres.

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