Share

Scientists Find Three Super-Earths Only 21 Light Years Away

The lately found solution has at its core a pygmy stars professionally titled Human resource 8832 that’s brilliant a sufficient amount to be seen having the bare off but lighting control and less space-consuming than our sunshine.

Advertisement

“This system, reminiscent of our own Solar System with the inner small planets and the outer gaseous one, will without doubt encounter a growing interest from the astronomical community”, the astronomers said.

A secret “Super Earth” has been discovered in the night sky thanks to astronomers from St Andrews University.

As for the transiting super-Earth, which was given the name HD 219134b, it is about 4.5 times more massive than our planet and 1.6 times larger, and it orbits around HD219134 once per three days.

“Being able to characterize three transiting super-Earths in a single bright and close system would provide incomparable constraints for planet formation and composition models, in particular for super-Earths”. It is by far the closest transiting planet known today.

A new study in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics and authored by scientists at the University of Geneva and their colleagues at NCCR PlanetS announces the discovery of a previously undocumented planetary system lurking in the constellation of Cassiopeia at a distance of merely 21 light-years from our cosmic neighborhood.

Researchers believe that its surface may be doted with volcanoes because it looks like a rocky planet and its mass and size point into that direction.

With a mass more than four times that of Earth, HD 219134b qualifies as a “Super Earth”.

It was not in the so-called “habitable zone” of its star, and would not have liquid water necessary for life.

As a result, the team can calculate the planet’s density, which works out to about 6 g/cm3. It is by far the closest transiting planet known, and likely to remain one of the closest ever.

It is the nearest rocky planet confirmed outside our solar system.

‘These transiting systems are especially interesting in that they allow characterisation of the atmosphere of the planet (by studying) the light of the star going through the atmosphere, ‘ Udry said.

Dr Chris Watson, from Queen’s University Belfast, said: “The amount that we will learn about this planetary system when we train the world’s largest telescopes on it in the coming years will be phenomenal, and I’m sure there will be yet more surprises”.

It comprises four planets – one giant and three super-Earths orbiting a star dubbed HD219134.

The star is slightly colder and less massive than our Sunday.

Advertisement

A giant planet further out orbits once every three years, the team said.

The planet was previously hidden