Latest news with #Earth-analogues
The Independent
28-01-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Scientists discover ‘super-Earth' planet that could be suitable for life
Scientists have discovered a so-called 'super-Earth' planet, potentially capable of supporting life, orbiting a sun -like star just 20 light-years away. This 'super-Earth,' dubbed HD 20794 d, boasts a mass six times that of our planet and resides within the star's 'habitable zone.' The zone represents the optimal distance from a star where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface. However, HD 20794 d follows an elliptical, rather than circular, orbit, meaning its distance from its star varies. This makes it difficult to definitively determine its life-supporting potential at this stage. The initial hint of HD 20794 d's existence came in 2022 when Dr. Michael Cretignier, a postdoctoral research assistant at the University of Oxford's Department of Physics, spotted a signal while examining archived data from the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher spectrograph at Chile's La Silla Observatory. 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.
Sky News
28-01-2025
- Science
- Sky News
'Super-Earth' planet found 20 light years away could be able to host life
A "super-Earth" planet found outside of our solar system could have conditions suitable for life, according to experts at the University of Oxford. Researchers said the planet has a mass six times greater than our Earth's and orbits in a "habitable zone" of a star similar to the sun. While located 20 light-years away, scientists believe the planet - named HD 20794 d - could be at the right distance from its star to sustain water on its surface. Dr Michael Cretignier, postdoctoral research assistant at the university's physics department, said: "Excitingly, its proximity with us means there is hope for future space missions to obtain an image of it." However, because HD 20794 d orbits in an elliptical way, rather than circular like the Earth, it is unclear whether it would be able to host life. It was first identified by Dr Cretignier in 2022 after he found a possible signal 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 then analysed two decades of observations to confirm the discovery of HD 20794 d. "For me, it was naturally a huge joy when we could confirm the planet's existence," Dr Cretignier said. "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." He added the planet "could play a pivotal role in future missions" hoping to "search for biosignatures indicating potential life" on planets far away from our own. "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," he said.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
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.
The Independent
28-01-2025
- Science
- The Independent
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. 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.' 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 Dr Michael Cretignier 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.'
