Astronomers have discovered another possibly habitable exoplanet circling a nearby star. The planet, GJ 251 c, is 18 light-years away and in the habitable zone of its red dwarf star, according to a team of researchers led by the University of California Irvine.
The area of space surrounding a star that may contain liquid water is known as the habitable zone. Like Earth, this newly found planet is probably rocky. Nevertheless, it is roughly four times as massive, making it a super-Earth. Every 54 days, it completes one orbit of its star.
The Habitable Zone Planet Finder (HPF) instrument on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at the McDonald Observatory in Texas was utilized by the researchers. Using the NEID spectrometer on a telescope at Arizona's Kitt Peak National Observatory, they further validated the finding.
Depending on additional factors, a rocky planet's temperatures in the habitable zone might permit the existence of liquid water.
It is merely the most recent discovery of an exoplanet that may be habitable. Nevertheless, GJ 251 c is intriguing since it is well suited for additional telescope research. Its proximity -- just 18 light-years -- also facilitates that task.
Co-author Paul Robertson at UC Irvine said, "We have found so many exoplanets at this point that discovering a new one is not such a big deal. What makes this especially valuable is that its host star is close by, at just about 18 light-years away. Cosmically speaking, it's practically next door."
The radial velocity method was used by the researchers to locate the planet. In other words, because of the planet's gravitational pull on the star, which can be measured as "wobble," astronomers are able to identify it at that point. However, there is still more to discover about this world.
As lead author Corey Beard, an astrophysicist at the University of California Irvine noted, "We are at the cutting edge of technology and analysis methods with this system. While its discovery is quite statistically significant, we are still determining the status of the planet due to the uncertainty of our instruments and methods. We need the next generation of telescopes to directly image this candidate, but what we also need is community investment."
Furthermore, as a baseline, the scientists employed the radial velocity measurements of GJ 251 b, another inner planet.
Is GJ 251 C livable, then? We're not sure yet. According to the researchers, because it is rocky and located in the star's habitable zone, it may be habitable. We still don't know a lot about it, though.
Co-author Suvrath Mahadevan at Pennsylvania State University said, "We look for these types of planets because they are our best chance at finding life elsewhere. The exoplanet is in the habitable or the 'Goldilocks Zone,' the right distance from its star that liquid water could exist on its surface, if it has the right atmosphere."
"We call it the Habitable Zone Planet Finder, because we are looking for worlds that are at the right distance from their star that liquid water could exist on their surface. This has been the central goal of that survey. This discovery represents one of the best candidates in the search for atmospheric signature of life elsewhere in the next five to 10 years."
"While we can't yet confirm the presence of an atmosphere or life on GJ 251 c, the planet represents a promising target for future exploration. We made an exciting discovery, but there's still much more to learn about this planet," the researcher further added.
The study, published in The Astronomical Journal, stated that GJ 251 is a highly desirable northern target for upcoming direct imaging missions on next-generation telescopes due to its closeness to Earth and advantageous spectral type.
GJ 251 c is probably one of the most promising locations to look for biosignatures using next-generation telescopes because it orbits in the habitable zone of a nearby star. Using climate simulations, we demonstrate that GJ 251 c may have a temperate surface, and we highlight spectral features that could be seen through direct imaging.