Khaberni - An international team of researchers has announced the discovery of a new exoplanet outside our solar system that may hold promising indicators of the possibility of life, reigniting scientists' hopes of finding habitable worlds beyond our planet.
The planet, named GJ 251 c, is located less than 20 light-years from Earth and is classified as a "super-Earth," which are rocky planets similar to Earth but larger in size, making them ideal targets in the search for habitable planets.
The significance of this discovery lies in the planet's location within what is known as the "habitable zone" around its parent star, which is the region where liquid water could potentially exist on the surface, a fundamental element considered key to life as we know it.
The scientists were able to discover the planet thanks to a sophisticated tool known as the "Habitable Zone Planet Finder," designed specifically to identify worlds that orbit at suitable distances from their stars.
This discovery followed the analysis of astronomical data collected over more than 20 years from several observatories, where researchers noticed a slight "wobbling" movement in the host star caused by the gravitational pull of the planet as it orbits around it.
Initially, scientists focused on another planet in the same system known as GJ 251 b, but deeper analysis revealed the existence of a second, larger planet, GJ 251 c, which was later confirmed to exist.
Although the scientific team has yet to directly observe the planet or determine whether it has an atmosphere, they described it as one of the most promising exoplanets for future study.
Dr. Suvrath Mahadevan from Penn State University, one of the researchers involved, said: "We have made an exciting discovery, but it is just the beginning of the journey. We hope that upcoming telescopes will give us the opportunity to study this new world more closely."
