Water-rich exoplanet discovered 50 light years away

Water-rich exoplanet discovered 50 light years away

The unique exoplanet, which contains large amounts of water, was detected by ESA’s CHEOPS space telescope.

search for one exoplanets via the ESA space telescope Cheops Considered a small feeling. this is Planet D in star system number 2 wolveswho is in 50 light years away circles from the earth. The discovery occurred in the spring when observing the inner planets B and C, when a completely unexpected forward-moving planet D flew through the picture.

Nu2 Lupi d’s discovery unique

Since she’s the star of almost everyone circled for 107 days, the probability of seeing it passing in front of the star is extremely small. According to the research team The Graz Institute for Space Research (IWF) belongs to the Austrian Academy of Sciences, it was actually This is the first time an exoplanet with a period of more than 100 days has been observed.

on one transit The planets block a tiny fraction of the light as they pass in front of their star. This fall in light also led the CHEOPS team to an extraordinary discovery Nu2 Lupi D. Such transits can be used to study a planet’s atmosphere, orbit, size and interior in greater detail. Most of the long-period exoplanets discovered so far have been found near stars that are too weak to allow detailed observations. According to the researchers, however, Nu2 Lupi is quite bright and therefore an attractive target for further observation.

8.8 times the mass of Earth, lots of water

Measurements made by CHEOPS showed that the planet d is about 2.5 times the radius of the earth is and his mass 8.8 times the size of Earth is. With the new data, the science team was able to accurately determine the average density of the planets. Planet B is believed to be composed mostly of rock, while planets C and D are believed to contain large amounts of water surrounded by small amounts of hydrogen and helium.

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In fact, planets c and d host far more water than Earth: 25 percent included in their mass Water, compared to less than 0.1 percent for Earth. “Our calculations suggest that the planet’s gas envelope was already formed,” says IMF co-author Andrea Bonfanti.

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