Scientists find Earth-like planet that could host life

For the first time, astronomers have detected a Super-Earth in the habitable zone of a distant, Sun-like star using a revolutionary observation method. This discovery significantly increases the likelihood of finding planets capable of supporting life.

This is reported by SciTechDaily.

What is known about the new super-Earth?

The discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a star similar to our Sun in 1995 marked a pivotal moment in addressing that mystery. Since then, exoplanet research has become a central focus of modern astronomy, providing valuable information about how planets form, evolve, and potentially support life.

In their search for Earth-like planets, an international team led by the Yunnan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and collaborating institutions made a significant breakthrough using Transit Timing Variation (TTV) analysis.

TTV allowed them to detect a super-Earth named Kepler-725c for the first time. Kepler-725c is about 10 times more massive than Earth and orbits within the habitable zone of a Sun-like star, Kepler-725. The findings were published in Nature Astronomy.

Astronomers traditionally use the transit method and radial velocity (RV) measurements to detect low-mass planets (10 Earth masses or less) within the habitable zones of Sun-like stars. However, these smaller planets typically have long orbits and emit weak RV signals, which makes them difficult to detect. In particular, the RV technique demands extremely precise measurements, which limits its practicality for identifying such faint, distant planets.

Kepler-725c, the newly discovered non-transiting planet, orbits a G9V host star. With an orbital period of 207.5 days and a semi-major axis of 0.674 astronomical units (AU), it receives approximately 1.4 times the solar radiation that Earth does. During part of its orbit, the planet lies within the host star’s habitable zone, making it a potential habitable planet.

By analyzing the transit timing variation (TTV) signals of Kepler-725b, a gas giant with a 39.64-day orbit in the same system, the team successfully inferred Kepler-725c's mass and orbital parameters. This demonstrates the TTV technique's potential to detect low-mass planets in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars.

Read more:

Astronomers discover extraordinary exoplanet in Kepler-10 System

China creates technology that will outshine Starlink — details