‘Super Earth’ which could host alien life and year lasts just 11 days found
A 'Super Earth' where alien life could potentially thrive has been discovered by excited astronomers.
The planet TOI-1452 b is very similar to Earth but is 100 light years away, bigger, and, according to scientists' simulations, is covered by ocean, which has led astronomers to believe it could be home to previously undiscovered species.
This planet is particularly exciting to researchers as it is one of the most likely planets discovered so far to house alien life forms.
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"TOI-1452 b is one of the best candidates for an ocean planet that we have found to date," said Charles Cadieux, the Ph.D. student who led the University of Montreal team that made the discovery.
The discovery was made with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the largest and most advanced space telescope in the world which is able to detect water droplets in the air to identify ocean planets such as TOI-1452 b, which some believe are more likely to play host to alien species.
And despite its similarities with Earth, TOI-1452 b also has some very important differences.
It orbits two small stars and a year on the planet is just 11 days long.
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Scientists think the planet is rocky and receives twice as much radiation as Earth does.
It is also thought that about 30% of the planet's mass is made up of its oceans, compared to just 1% here on Earth.
Although other planets potentially containing water have been discovered in the past, it's hard to confirm when the planets are so far away from us.
It is hoped that as technology advances, scientists will be able to find more planets similar to Earth, and eventually, life forms in other parts of the universe – but only time will tell whether TOI-1452 b has life.
University of Montreal professor René Doyon said: "I’m extremely proud of this discovery because it shows the high calibre of our researchers and instrumentation."
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