Anish Vij
Scientists say they have made a 'really exciting discovery' as another potentially habitable planet has been spotted just 40 light years away.
Named Gliese 12 b, the red dwarf orbits its host star every 12.8 days in the constellation of Pisces, and is slightly smaller than Earth, closer to the size of Venus.
With an estimated surface temperature of 42C, there is a chance that humans could live there one day - theoretically, of course.
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However, we still need to know information about its atmospheric condition, or if it has one at all.
Only then scientists will confidently be able to determine if Gliese 12 b will be able to maintain temperatures suitable for water and life to exist on its surface.
Masayuki Kuzuhara, a project assistant professor at the Astrobiology Centre in Tokyo, who co-led one research team with Akihiko Fukui, said: “We’ve found the nearest, transiting, temperate, Earth-size world located to date.
“Although we don’t yet know whether it possesses an atmosphere, we’ve been thinking of it as an exo-Venus, with similar size and energy received from its star as our planetary neighbour in the solar system.”
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The University of Warwick’s Professor Thomas Wilson, who was involved in the discovery, also said: “This is a really exciting discovery and will help our research into planets similar to Earth.
“Sadly, this planet is a little far away for us to experience it more closely. The light we are seeing now is from 40 years ago – that’s how long it has taken to reach us here on Earth.
“Planets like Gliese 12 b are few and far between, so for us to be able to examine one this closely and learn about its atmosphere and temperature is very rare.”
Wilson and the research team used data from NASA’s satellites to confirm the planet’s existence, as well as it's characteristics.
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And according to scientist's analysis, Gliese 12 b shows no extreme signs of magnetic activity so far - unlike other red dwarfs.
Dr Vincent Van Eylen, from UCL, said: “GJ12b is an incredibly exciting planet because its size is identical to that of Earth.
“Even though GJ12b is about 15 times closer to its star than Earth is to our Sun, because it orbits such a small star the temperature on the planet may be quite similar to that on Earth.
“That doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the planet is habitable, but it does make it a great place to start looking.
“Fortunately it’s also a very nearby star, so we will learn much more about the planet and its atmosphere with telescopes like JWST in the next years.”