NASA has discovered a “super-Earth” that could be habitable. Don't pack your bag too quickly, it is 137 light-years away.
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“It would be a very extraordinary discovery to discover life elsewhere, because we are unique in the universe,” says Olivier Hernandez, director of the Montreal Planetarium. “It's kind of like the Holy Grail for astronomers.”
NASA revealed that the planet is about one and a half times larger than Earth and completes a full or general forward orbit in just 19 days.
These tight orbits allow scientists to observe the planet frequently.
Even more promising is that the planet has a habitable zone around its parent star, meaning it could form liquid water on its surface, which would be vital for supporting life forms.
“The habitable zone is a region around a star where it is warm enough for water to be in its liquid form on the surface of the planet,” Mr. Hernandez says. “We are likely to have conditions conducive to life because one of the basic conditions is access to water.”
The planet was discovered last month by a team of international scientists led by Georgina Drensfield from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
“We will study it using the James Webb Space Telescope to try to characterize its atmosphere, if it has one,” Mr. Hernandez explains.
“Hardcore beer fanatic. Falls down a lot. Professional coffee fan. Music ninja.”
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