Earth-sized exoplanet in a habitable zone discovered just 12 light-years away!
Key Takeaways
- Three Earth-sized exoplanet candidates orbit GJ 1061, a star 12 light-years away.
- One of the planets, GJ 1061 d, is in the star’s habitable zone.
- The host star, GJ 1061, is a calm M dwarf, potentially offering better conditions for life.
- These planets were discovered using the radial velocity method during the Red Dot project.
- Scientists suspect there might be an additional, undiscovered fourth planet in the system.
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Three Earth-Sized Planets Discovered Close to Home
Astronomers have identified three Earth-sized exoplanet candidates orbiting GJ 1061, a star just 12 light-years away. One of these, designated planet d, lies in the habitable zone where liquid water could exist, making it the most intriguing for scientists. These planets, with masses between 1.4 and 1.8 times that of Earth, orbit their star every three to 13 days, meaning the entire system is compact compared to our solar system.
GJ 1061 is an M dwarf, a low-mass star similar to Proxima Centauri but with less intense stellar activity, suggesting a potentially safer environment for life. However, M dwarfs can have a history of stronger radiation that may strip atmospheres from nearby planets over time. Despite this, GJ 1061’s relatively calm nature raises hopes for its planets’ habitability.
Discovering the Planets
Using the HARPS instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s telescope in Chile, researchers monitored GJ 1061 over 54 nights in 2018 as part of the Red Dot project. This initiative focuses on identifying Earth-like planets around nearby stars. By analyzing the star’s radial velocity — tiny wobbles caused by the gravitational pull of orbiting planets — scientists detected the presence of three planets and a potential fourth.
The fourth signal is suspected to be stellar activity, but researchers cannot completely rule out the existence of another planet with a longer orbit. If real, this planet would require further observation to confirm.
Implications for Exoplanet Studies
These findings align with previous research suggesting that small, rocky planets are common around cool, small stars like GJ 1061. The discovery demonstrates the potential of long-term campaigns like Red Dot to uncover new planets, particularly smaller ones that are more challenging to detect.
Planet d, being in the habitable zone, stands out as a promising target for future studies. Its proximity offers a unique opportunity to investigate whether it can retain an atmosphere and potentially support life.
The results have been published on the preprint site arXiv and submitted to the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
