(NewsNation) — NASA recently announced the discovery of a “Super Earth” planet in a habitable zone 137 light-years away. What do we know about the planet?
What is the “Super Earth”?
The planet is 137 light-years from Earth, and it orbits the red dwarf star TOI-715. The planet exists in what scientists refer to as a planetary system’s “habitable zone,” where life could be capable of forming and surviving. It was dubbed a “Super Earth” due to its size, which is approximately 1.5 times the width of our planet. It has an orbit equivalent to 19 Earth days.
What is it actually called?
The planet’s official name is TOI-715 b, but “Super Earth” is a lot catchier.
How was it discovered?
Scientists using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observed the planet passing across TOI-715. There is also a possibility a smaller Earth-like planet exists in the same habitable zone.
Why is the discovery so important?
Scientists have discovered more than 4,000 known planets in the universe, but only 55 of them are classified as Earth-like, making them relatively rare. While scientists have suggested there could be as many as 40 billion Earth-like planets, many of them are likely to exist in distant galaxies and could remain undiscovered for a long time.
At a distance of 137 light-years, TO-715 b is also relatively close — at least in cosmic terms.
What is the habitable zone?
The habitable zone is an area in a planetary system where a planet could theoretically maintain temperatures that would allow liquid water to exist on the surface, something considered critical for life. While a planet may be in a habitable zone, that’s no guarantee it could support life since other factors like atmospheric pressure also influence the formation of liquid water.
Is there life on the planet?
Not as far as scientists know right now. If the planet could support liquid water, it would be an indication it could support life, but while NASA considers water essential for life, it’s also possible that exotic alien life forms could evolve to survive on other liquids.
The search for extraterrestrial life is also complicated by the fact that scientists often assume alien life would have similarities to carbon-based lifeforms on Earth. But it’s also possible that other life in the universe could evolve in an entirely different way and could even be so different from life on Earth that we might not recognize it at first.
Could humans live there?
Based on the zone it’s in, that would be a possibility. However, other factors influence habitability, including the atmosphere, that aren’t known based on current data.
Even if scientists determine that humans can survive on the planet, don’t fire up the warp drive just yet. In cosmic terms, 137 light-years may be close, but one light-year is 5.88 trillion miles. NASA’s Voyager One spacecraft will take more than 17,000 years to travel just one light-year at its rate of 61,000 kph. That means it would take more than 2,329,000 years for it to reach TO-715 b.
Scientists have suggested the ability to travel faster than light could be possible, but it’s not something we have the knowledge or technology to do right now. Faster-than-light travel could put planets like TO-715 b within closer reach, but for now, warp drives remain the province of science fiction rather than science fact.