Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have identified a potentially habitable planet 36 light years from Earth. It is called HD85512b and revolves around an orange dwarf in the constellation Vela . It has been discovered using the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) instrument installed at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile.
The new celestial body is about three and a half times the mass of the Earth and is in the range of habitability of its star, that is, neither too close nor too far to allow the existence of liquid water on its surface . Its size also indicates that the surrounding atmosphere could contain oxygen and nitrogen instead of the hydrogen and helium that are often found in the atmospheres of giant planets.
The planet has other advantages. Since its orbit is almost perfectly circular and stable, it is foreseeable that the weather will be as well . Furthermore, the planetary system of which it is a part is one billion years older than Earth , which means that it has had more than enough time for life to develop. Added to this is that its star is more mature than our Sun and, therefore, less prone to developing cycles of violent activity that destabilize the planet.
With this, there are already three exoplanets identified by astronomers that could host life .
