They discover a planet similar to Earth that could be habitable

An international investigation has discovered a transiting temperate planet similar in size to Earth in a potentially habitable zone near its star. It is located in the constellation Pisces, and is about 40 light-years away from us, according to the Institute of Astrophysics in the Canary Islands (IAC).

by: Clarion

According to the results published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the planet has been named Gliese 12 and its discovery was made possible by observations of NASA’s Tess satellite and facilities such as the Carmenes Spectrometer at the Calar Alto Observatory (Almería), and MuSCAT2, from the Carlos Sanchez Telescope, at the Teide Observatory (Tenerife). .

Gliese 12 b is located within the habitable zone of its star, a cool red dwarf, which makes it a “promising candidate” to study its atmosphere using the James Webb Space Telescope, the International Astronomical Center noted in a statement.

It is the closest temperate exoplanet, similar in size to Earth, and has been discovered so far using the transit method. This is done by observing the periodic dimming of its star resulting from the passage of the planet.

Its diameter is similar to the diameter of the planet Venus, which is slightly smaller than the diameter of Earth, and its surface temperature is estimated at about 42 degrees Celsius. The final temperature will depend on whether the planet was able to maintain and create an atmosphere, from the time of its formation to the present.

You can read the full memo at Clarion