Astronomers Discover "Water-Rich Super-Earth" Twice As Big As Our Planet

NDTV

2 days ago

Scientists have discovered a new "super-Earth" that is located about 154 light-years away and is nearly twice as big and four times as massive as our planet. According to a paper published on the arXiv preprint server, the team of astronomers, led by Abderahmane Soubkiou of the Oukaimeden Observatory in Morocco, discovered the exoplanet using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). They stated the newly discovered alien world, designated TOI-1846 b, is likely a water-rich super-Earth and is estimated to be 7.2 billion years old.
"We have validated TOI-1846 b using TESS and multicolour ground-based photometric data, high-resolution imaging, and spectroscopic observations," the researchers wrote in the paper, as per phys.org.
According to the study, the exoplanet has a radius of about 1.792 Earth radii and is about 4.4 times more massive than our planet. It orbits its host every 3.93 days, and the equilibrium temperature of the planet is estimated to be 568.1 K.
Based on their research, scientists concluded that the new "super-Earth" is likely water-rich. But they noted that radial velocity (RV) observations of TOI-1846 b should be conducted in order to unveil its composition. "These findings make TOI-1846 b well-suited for mass determination via RV observations. This could be possible with the MAROON-X instrument. (...) We find a TSM [transmission spectroscopy metric] of 47 for TOI-1846 b, which is below the 90 benchmark for small sub-Neptunes," the authors of the paper wrote, according to the outlet.
When it comes to the parent star TOI-1846, the researchers said that the exoplanet is about 0.4 times the size of the Sun, and its mass is approximately 0.42 solar masses. The star has an effective temperature of 3,568 K and is estimated to be 7.2 billion years old, study authors said.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, researchers discovered another "super-Earth" located outside our solar system. The exoplanet, designated HD 20794 d, is six times the mass of Earth and could harbour liquid water on its surface. Located 20 light-years away, it orbits within the habitable zone of a star similar to our sun, according to findings from the University of Oxford.
However, unlike Earth's circular orbit, HD 20794 d follows an elliptical path, making it uncertain whether the planet could support life, researchers said.