New Exoplanet Discovered in Nearest Star to Earth

The researches carried out by humanity in the depths of space are of great importance in terms of finding extraterrestrial life and planets suitable for life. The reason for this is the benefits that understanding the secrets of the universe and finding a planet considered suitable for life can provide people in the coming years. ‘exoplanet’ The discovery of the planets, called planets outside our solar system, is also considered as the most important step towards the goals we have mentioned.

In the past weeks, we have compiled the exoplanets that may be suitable for life for you. In addition, a few months ago, an artificial intelligence discovered more than 300 new exoplanets with the help of the Kepler Space Telescope and raised hopes. Now the ‘neighboring star’ is very close to our solar system. Proxima CentauriA new exoplanet has been discovered in .

It is likely to be viable

Firstly 4.2 light years It should be noted that planets have been discovered before in the orbit of this star at a distance. In these news we shared with you, we mentioned that astronomers named the exoplanets they discovered ‘Proxima b’ and ‘Proxima Centauri c’. In the research carried out now, the orbiting of the star and ‘proxima d’ A brand new exoplanet named after him has been discovered.

According to the study published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, Proxima d has a mass four times less than Earth, which is one of the most discovered so far. lightest exoplanets is among. Joao Faria, one of the authors of the study, also said about the planet, “This discovery suggests that our nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri, is full of interesting and new ‘worlds’; shows that more research and discoveries can be made on this subject’ used the phrases.

Experts also emphasize that the discovery has exciting aspects. It was discovered on the surface of planet Proxima d, which was discovered using a telescope of the European Southern Observatory and a planet-seeking instrument called HARPS. availability of water Noting that there is a possibility, the researchers add that the planet completes a full circle around the star in 5 days.

First observed in 2020

In addition, the team stated in their statement that they first observed the planet in 2020. However, at that time the received signal was very weak, so ESPRESSO ‘, in which the planet is observed in the future with the help of a spectrograph called ‘radial velocity techniqueIt was reported that the discovery was made with ‘. Faria also said about this situation, “After making new observations, we were able to confirm that the signal was a planetary candidate. I was also excited to discover such a close exoplanet with a small signal.

Finally, experts state that these techniques can be used to explore more planets. Pedro Figueira of ESPRESSO also said that such small signals can be discovered and tracked by spectrograph, and that they can be found in the depths of the galaxy. similar to earththinks that habitable planets can be discovered.