NASA discovers 2 living planets orbiting 1 dwarf star
In recent months, NASA has made several discoveries throughout space that may show that we are not as alone as we think. The latest finding includes 100 new exoplanets, at least 2 of which could support life. The bad news is that they are 181 light years away ...
The red dwarf star K2-72 is in the constellation Aquarius and is orbited by four planets. Two of them are the ones that could have some kind of life, according to the scientists. All of these planets would be rocky and orbits very close to the star - something that does not affect much since their temperature is lower and allows at least two in life to develop.
The four planets would be 20-50% larger than Earth and have smaller orbits than Mercury. However, being a smaller star makes it possible for water to exist in a liquid state, one of the prime conditions for life as we know it on Earth.
It was unintentionally wanting
The researchers celebrate the new findings because they were almost accidental: in 2012, problems with the Kepler telescope prevented it from stabilizing on the initial mission. However, an ingenious NASA resolution solved the problem and made the telescope have a wider scope of observation from space.
Through this, several planets surrounding dwarf stars are being discovered. Therefore, the chances are higher that any of them have the necessary preconditions for life, according to scientists. "Kepler has shown strong signs that there are plenty of especially small planets around the so-called smaller stars like the red dwarf, " said astronomer Ian Crossfield.
The choir is expanded by scientist Steve Howell, who is behind this discovery project and believes that this abundant list of new exoplanets validates Kepler's mission and is bringing numerous interesting planets to study in the future. The next step is to use the James Webb telescope to analyze these cooler planets.
Recommended
