25 years ago the first exoplanet was discovered, that is, a planet that is beyond the limits of our Solar System. Since then, more than 4,000 have been discovered.
Thanks to NASA’s TESS telescope, three new exoplanets have been discovered orbiting the star GJ357. According to scientists, it is a potentially habitable solar system.
The star GJ357 is a dwarf star nearly one third the mass and size of our Sun. It is 40% cooler than ours and lies 31 light-years away in the constellation Hydra.
The discovery occurred in February, when one of the planets in the solar system, GJ357b, was detected in transit. This means that, from our point of view, the planet passes in front of its star and dims its brightness, allowing it to be observed. This planet is 22% larger than Earth and has an average temperature of 254 °C. An oven for us.
Then, they discovered the other two planets: GJ357c and GJ357d. The latter has been particularly interesting to researchers, who believe it could be habitable.
GJ357d orbits its star every 55.7 days at a distance of about 20% of the distance from Earth to the Sun, and weighs at least 6.1 times the mass of our planet. Its size and composition are unclear, but a rocky planet with this mass would be one to two times the size of Earth.
According to experts, the conditions are conducive for the planet to have liquid water on its surface, which would make it, preliminarily, a planet of human interest as a potential home in the future.
Due to these conditions, the planets of the GJ357 system have become ideal targets for studying the atmosphere of terrestrial planets.
What do you think of this discovery?
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