Scientists spot promising super-Earth planets just 11 light-years away

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SCIENCEPublished 4 hours ago

Scientists spot promising super-Earth planets just 11 light-years away
Two exoplanets found near red dwarf star Gliese 887 could possibly have 
favorable conditions for life outside our solar system.
By Julia Musto | Fox News

A team of German astronomers has discovered two super-Earths near the 
red dwarf star Gliese 887 and just a short 11 light-years away from Earth.


Super-Earths are planets with a mass greater than Earth's, but less than 
those of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. The two exoplanets -- or 
planets located outside of our solar system -- were named Gliese 887b 
and Gliese 887c, respectively.

EXOPLANET SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN NEPTUNE FOUND CLOSE TO EARTH

Working as part of the Red Dots campaign, University of Gottingen 
Astronomer Sandra Saffers authored a study on the exoplanets published 
in the journal Science on Thursday.

"These planets will provide the best possibilities for more detailed 
studies, including the search for life outside our solar system," 
Jeffers wrote.

The multiplanetary system of newly discovered super-Earths orbiting 
nearby red dwarf star Gliese 887 is seen in this artist's impression. 
Mark Garlick/Handout via REUTERS.
The multiplanetary system of newly discovered super-Earths orbiting 
nearby red dwarf star Gliese 887 is seen in this artist's impression. 
Mark Garlick/Handout via REUTERS.
The team monitored the system using Chile's European Southern 
Observatory's High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) 
spectrograph and analyzed nearly 20 years of archival data on Gliese 887.

Using a technique called the "Doppler wobble," they found the planets to 
have orbits of just 9.3 and 21.8 days -- faster than Mercury's highly 
elliptical 88-day orbit.

Gliese 887b and Gliese 887c are located near their star's habitable 
zone, an area where liquid water may potentially exist. That said, 
measurements of Gliese 887c suggest a surface temperature of 158 degrees 
Fahrenheit or 70 degrees Celsius.


In addition, they could potentially be rocky planets -- much like Mars 
and Earth.

Plus, Gliese 887 is fairly calm for a red dwarf star. Red dwarfs -- 
although smaller and dimmer than our sun -- will often blast out 
energetic flares than can destroy a planet's atmosphere.

Red dwarf systems make up about 70 percent of the Milky Way's stellar 
population.

Study: Alien planets could be better suited for life than EarthVideo
The University of Gottingen affirmed Thursday that favorable conditions 
on Gliese 887 mean "the newly discovered planets may retain their 
atmospheres, or have thicker atmospheres than the Earth, and potentially 
host life."

Saffers' research also suggests that our exoplanet neighbors could 
eventually be good targets for NASA's much-delayed next-generation James 
Webb Space Telescope -- a successor to the Hubble Telescope which may be 
able to provide more information including whether or not the Gliese 887 
exoplanets have atmospheres.

The team also found detected a signal further out that could correspond 
to a possible third planet which may be even more suitable to life.

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According to NASA, more than 4,000 exoplanets have been discovered in 
total and are considered "confirmed." However, there are thousands of 
other "candidate" exoplanet detections.

Since the first exoplanets were discovered in the early 1990s, the 
number of known exoplanets has doubled about every 27 months.

Julia Musto is a reporter for Fox News Digital. You can find her on 
Twitter at @JuliaElenaMusto.