Could There Be Life? This Newfound 'Super-Earth' May Be Habitable
By Passant Rabie 7 hours ago Science & Astronomy
GJ 357d could have water on its surface.
Astronomers have found a nearby "super-Earth" exoplanet that may be capable of supporting life as we know it.
An international group of astronomers discovered the planet using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) earlier this year in the constellation Hydra, about 31 light-years from Earth, according to a statement by NASA. (One light-year is the distance light travels in a year, about 6 trillion miles, or 10 trillion kilometers.)
The exoplanet, named GJ 357 d, is believed to be around twice the size of Earth and harbor six times Earth's mass. Located in the outer edge of its host star's "habitable zone," scientists believe that this super-Earth could have water on its surface.
An artist's illustration of the potentially habitable exoplanet GJ 357 d.
(Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith)
This NASA graphic shows the GJ 357 star system and its three planets. GJ 357 d is in the habitable zone around the M-dwarf star.
"If the planet has a dense atmosphere, which will take future studies to determine, it could trap enough heat to warm the planet and allow liquid water on its surface," Diana Kossakowski, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, and co-author of the recent study, said in the statement.
More:
https://www.space.com/super-earth-exoplanet-gj-357d-may-support-life.html?utm_source=notification
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