Stunned scientists uncover super-Earth planet that could finally reveal existence of aliens
The ‘eccentric’ orbit of a new super-Earth that scientists have found oscillates in and out of the habitable zone of its star.
The nearby exoplanet HD 20794 d revolves around a star that resembles our Sun, a position essential to life as we know it.
The exoplanet is comparatively close to Earth, at about 19.7 light-years away.
After analyzing over two decades’ worth of data, a global team of scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Swiss research foundation NCCR PlanetS discovered the exoplanet.
They made advantage of a brand-new system dubbed YARARA, a recently created algorithm at UNIGE that can sieve data like a fine-tooth comb.
Michael Cretignier, who developed YARARA while pursuing his PhD at UNIGE, co-authored the study and stated, “We carefully eliminated sources of contamination by analyzing the data for years.”
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Because of its proximity to Earth, the exoplanet is easier to investigate because its light signals are more intense and unaffected by cosmic noise.
Senior lecturer and astronomy researcher Xavier Dumusque of the UNIGE stated: “HD 20794, the star that HD 20794 d orbits around, is not a typical star.
“Its luminosity and proximity makes it an ideal candidate for future telescopes whose mission will be to observe the atmospheres of exoplanets directly.”
Already, scientists are interested in the Extremely Large Telescope being built in the Atacama Desert of Chile by the European Southern Observatory.
The orbit of HD 20794 d around its star takes 647 days, about forty days less than that of Mars.
It has fascinated scientists because, in contrast to Mars or Earth, its orbit alternates between the inner and outer edges of its star.
Depending on where the planet is in its orbit, any water on it would either freeze or melt in this kind of orbit.
What is a Super-Earth?
An exoplanet’s size determines whether it is referred to as a super-Earth. As explained by NASA:
Super-Earths are a unique class of planets in our solar system. They can be composed of rock, gas, or a combination of the two. They are heavier than Earth but less massive than ice giants like Neptune and Uranus.
They are up to ten times as massive and twice as large as the Earth.
“The true nature of these planets remains shrouded in uncertainty because we have nothing like them in our own solar system and yet, they are common among planets found so far in our galaxy.”
The planetary composition of super-Earths can vary.
They might be snowball planets, ocean worlds, or even planets made of thick gas like Neptune.
Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz made the first exoplanet discovery in 1995. An exoplanet is a planet outside of our solar system that orbits its own star.
For their efforts, the two received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics.
More than 7,000 exoplanets have been found in the last almost three decades.
However, scientists are still unable to find life elsewhere in the universe.
It’s unknown whether HD 20794 d is home to extraterrestrial life or even if it possesses all the necessary components to support future life.
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The new Centre for Life in the Universe (CVU), an exoplanet research facility at UNIGE, is presently investigating its habitability.
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