A team of researchers led by the University of New South Wales (Australia) has discovered a planet very similar to Earth, potentially habitable and quite close: only 16 light years away .
The new super-earth has been named GJ 832 cy and has a mass of at least five times that of Earth . In addition, it has a 16-day orbit around its star, the red dwarf GJ 832. According to the calculations of experts, this planet receives approximately the same average stellar energy as Earth, so it could have a temperature very similar to that of our planet .
“However, given the great mass of the planet, it seems likely that it has a massive atmosphere, which may well make the planet inhospitable . A denser atmosphere traps heat and could make it more like a super-Venus too hot for life, ”says Chris Tinney, the study leader.
The discovery of GJ 832 c has therefore altered the list of potentially habitable planets , placing it in third place, only ahead of Gliese 667 C and Kepler 62, according to the Earth's similarity index developed by scientists from the University of Puerto Rico in Arecibo.
The discovery has been published in the Astrophysical Journal .
