A European team of astronomers has discovered a new planet orbiting a sun at the exact distance that would allow a climate similar to Earth's and that, therefore, could host liquid water on its surface and life . The astro, called HD 40397 , is an old and fairly quiet dwarf star that is located 44 light years from the solar system, with 6 planets circling around it.
One of these planets (HD 40397g) has a mass seven times that of the Earth and receives a similar amount of solar energy to this, in addition to meeting the necessary conditions to maintain a stable atmosphere. To this is added that it rotates on its axis, which further increases the possibility that it is capable of harboring some form of life, with day / night cycles similar to those on Earth. The finding, which will be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics , has been made possible thanks to data from the HARPS spectrograph of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
So far, hundreds of planets have been discovered outside the solar system, but on very rare occasions they rotate while they are in areas capable of supporting life, as is the case with HD 40397g.
