Researchers have made an amazing discovery: 117 light-years away, orbiting a star, is a planet on which life would be possible.
London – Despite technical progress, the vastness of space still poses unsolved mysteries to mankind. Researchers recently discovered a mysterious black hole outside the Milky Way (BW24* reported). It’s always fascinating when researchers make another significant discovery. A UK research team has discovered a putative planet where life could exist.
According to the British research team at the Royal Astronomical Society, this new planet could represent a second Earth. Such a discovery of an Earth-like planet is an “entirely new observation,” according to the researchers. The special feature: it is neither too warm nor too cold on the star. The conditions are “just right” for life.
117 light-years away: Planet provides optimal conditions for life – existence of water possible
The discovery of the earth-like planet gives the researchers hope: is there other life out there after all? Does the star offer opportunities to gain new resources? Either way, the distance is still a problem. The new planet is 117 light years away from our earth.
According to the researchers, life could well be possible in the discovered “habitable zone”. Because the temperatures are neither too cold nor too high, there are ideal conditions for the existence of water. This would be an important basic requirement for life. A research team discovered a mysterious life form* on the ISS.
The discovered planet orbits a so-called “white dwarf,” a rather small and old star that has been given the identification number WD1054-226. If the scientists’ assumption is confirmed, it would be the first time that a habitable planet has been found orbiting a white dwarf. An observation by the Hubble Space Telescope is also amazing: Researchers discover two galaxies in agony*.
Researchers discover first habitable planet orbiting a white dwarf
However, scientists have yet to provide scientific proof of the existence of the planet. “The possibility of a larger planet in the habitable zone is both exciting and unexpected – we weren’t looking for it,” said Farihi Jay, lead investigator for the research team. “It was a shock to the team,” he said in a BBC interview. In addition, researchers discovered for the first time an exoplanet outside of our galaxy*.
The researchers at the Royal Astronomical Society stumbled across the planet purely by accident while observing the white dwarf as part of a study. Using a special high-speed camera located at Chile’s La Silla Observatory, the researchers observed regular bursts of light. The special thing about it: 65 clouds and lunar-like structures orbit the white dwarf every 25 hours.
“The moon-sized structures we’ve observed tend to be bumpy and dusty rather than solid, spherical bodies. Their absolute regularity is a mystery that we cannot explain at this time,” explained Jay Farihi of University College London. The experts conjecture that a planet must affect the gravity of the objects.
Existence of the planet has yet to be proven further
Evidence of the planet’s existence could next come from comparing computer models with other observations of the white dwarf and its orbiting structures. But for the research team, “their planet” is just the beginning. “In astronomy, a single find usually means it’s a common occurrence,” says Jay Farihi. Similar exciting discoveries may follow. That would not be improbable in the vastness of space.
However, there will be no trip to the planet. It is too far away from the current state of the art for that. An explosive study also showed that space travel can damage the brain*. *BW24 is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Rubriklistenbild: © epa efe Eso/dpa
