Oxford scientists discover ‘super-Earth' planet that may be suitable for life
Scientists have discovered a 'super-Earth' planet that may have conditions suitable for life, according to the University of Oxford.
The exoplanet – a planet outside our solar system – has a mass six times greater than that of Earth, and orbits in the 'habitable zone' of a nearby star similar to our sun 20 light-years away from our solar system.
Orbiting in the zone means the planet, named HD 20794 d, is at the right distance from the star to sustain water on its surface, but because this distance changes over the course of its elliptical rather than circular orbit it is too early to say whether it could host life.
The exoplanet orbits in the habitable zone of its star (Image: Gabriel Perez Diaz, SMM (IAC)/PA) Dr Michael Cretignier, a postdoctoral research assistant in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford, first identified a possible signal for the exoplanet in 2022 while analysing archived data recorded by the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher spectrograph at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.
An international team of researchers went on to analyse two decades of observations to confirm the discovery.
'We worked on data analysis for years, gradually analysing and eliminating all possible sources of contamination,' Dr Cretignier said.
'For me, it was naturally a huge joy when we could confirm the planet's existence.
'It was also a relief, since the original signal was at the edge of the spectrograph's detection limit, so it was hard to be completely convinced at that time if the signal was real or not.
'Excitingly, its proximity with us (only 20 light-years) means there is hope for future space missions to obtain an image of it.'
Researchers hailed the planet as an 'invaluable test case' for space projects looking to detect signs of life outside our solar system.
'With its location in a habitable zone and relatively close proximity to Earth, this planet could play a pivotal role in future missions that will characterise the atmospheres of exoplanets to search for biosignatures indicating potential life,' Dr Cretignier said.
'While my job mainly consists of finding these unknown worlds, I'm now very enthusiastic to hear what other scientists can tell us about this newly discovered planet, particularly since it is among the closest Earth-analogues we know about and given its peculiar orbit.'
The findings have been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
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USA Today
38 minutes ago
- USA Today
Stinging and 'wicked' Asian needle ants are spreading across the US
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Hard to track, hard to kill The invasive insect was first discovered in the United states in 1932 in Decatur, Georgia, but was only recognized as a serious pest in the past two decades as it began to spread significantly throughout the southeast. Now it's found as far north as Connecticut and as far south as Florida, as well as in Wisconsin and Washington state, according to the site There are reports they have also appeared in Texas. These ants are carnivorous, seeking out prey such as flies, beetles, grasshoppers and their favorites: termites. Given their hunting habits, they don't lay down scent trails as some ants do, making it difficult to track them back to their colonies and eradicate. "Most ants are in-your-face invasive, they lay a pheromone trail to get to food. You can't miss an ant trail that's half an inch wide," said Suiter. "These remain hidden." The dark brown ants live in colonies in leaf litter, rotted logs, firewood and mulch. They often occur in residential settings, including parks, and urban areas, finding homes and under railroad ties, logs, bricks, and pavers. They can also nest in potted plants, under wood piles, and in lawns. "People are most often stung when they're working in their garden," said Theresa Dellinger, a diagnostician at the insect identification lab at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. "Nobody likes to be putting in their bedding plants and then suddenly have unexpected pain." The worker ants' bodies are about 0.2 inches long, small, dark and shiny but with lighter orange legs and antennae. "They have a long jaw and a big stinger on the business end," Dellinger said. Although they're relatively long and thin, the "needle" in their name actually comes from their Japanese name, Oo-hari-ari, which means "giant needle ant' and refers to size of their stinger, she said. 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Then about five minutes later, when the pain had eased, I felt 'ouch!' as if somebody had stung me again in the same place. The pain continues to reoccur in the same place, it disappears and then comes back," said Guénard. "For me, it goes on for about two hours," he said. "But I know in some people it lasts for as much as 24 to 48 hours." In a small number of cases it can also be deadly. The sting can cause allergic reactions and in 1% of victims, the venom can result in deadly anaphylactic shock. Decades of mystery There's a lot researchers don't yet understand about why these invasive ants only began to significantly spread in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. Native to China, Japan and Korea, the Asian needle ant was first identified in Georgia in 1932 but probably arrived here well before that. "It's very likely the ants were introduced in the early 20th century because by 1934 they were already found in three states, so clearly they hadn't just arrived," Guénard said. Because they live in dirt and mulch, Guénard speculates that they might have come into the United States in the root balls of trees being imported from Asia. What puzzles researchers is the timing of their spread. The ants remained relatively localized well into the 1970s, research shows. In 1962 a very thorough inventory of the ants of North Carolina was conducted by entomologist W. G. Carter. "He never found them," said Guénard. Then between 1991 and 2017, Asian needle ants spread across North Carolina and are now found across the state. "Something happened," Guénard said. "I could not tell you exactly what." The spread of this invasive species is causing ecological damage as they spread, research shows. Because they are predators, Asian needle ants hunt native insects that have evolved to have important roles in local ecosystems. For example, while no one wants termites in their home, in the forest they are critical part in the health of the woods. 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