K2-415b, an exoplanet the size of Earth orbiting a M dwarf star, has been discovered by a team of astronomers. It is only 72 light years away from Earth. K2-415b resembles Earth quite a bit, says a report by phys.org.
The Astronomical Journal has published the research.
‘Small planets surrounding M dwarfs provide a good laboratory to examine the atmospheric diversity of rocky planets and the circumstances at which a habitable terrestrial world can exist,’ stated an international team of astronomers under the direction of Teruyuki Hirano of the Astrobiology Center in Japan.
The authors continue, ‘K2-415 will be an attractive target for further follow-up studies, including extra radial velocity monitoring and transit spectroscopy, being one of the lowest mass stars known to host an Earth-sized transiting planet.’
When analysing data from the Kepler telescope, the astronomers discovered the new star. They used TESS data to examine the finding and validate it.
The exoplanet’s size is fairly similar to that of the Earth, but it has a far higher mass, the researchers discovered when examining it, according to a phys.org report. The exoplanet makes quick orbits around its host in under four days.
Despite the host star being far cooler than the sun, scientists claim that such a near orbit makes it a touch too close to be considered livable. However, the planet does seem to have an atmosphere, making it eligible for future investigation. The K2-415 star system will continue to be the focus of study efforts going forward since it still seems possible that there may be additional planets around the host star, according to the paper.
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