Planet with potential habitability discovered 35 light years away
A research team from the Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets at the University of Montreal has discovered a planet with characteristics that may make it suitable for life, located about 35 light years from Earth, WAM reports.
The team used NASA’s TESS space telescope to identify the planet, named L 98-59 f, which is one of five planets orbiting a red dwarf star.
The planet lies within the “habitable zone” where liquid water could exist and receives a stellar energy amount similar to what Earth receives from the Sun. It is part of a compact and notably diverse planetary system.
Previously, the L 98-59 star system was known to host only four planets, but detailed analysis of ground-based and space telescope data revealed the presence of a fifth planet.
Unlike the other planets in the system, this one does not transit directly between its star and Earth. Instead, it was detected through subtle changes in the host star’s motion.
Earlier, it was reported that for the first time, astronomers have observed the earliest stage of planet formation around a star other than our sun.