NASA announces ‘Super-Earth’ discovered in potential ‘habitable zone’

In a remarkable discovery, scientists have identified a potential “super-Earth” that may have the right temperature and conditions for life as we know it.

NASA announced that this new exoplanet, named TOI-715 b, is located a mere 137 light-years from Earth and lies within what is considered the “habitable zone,” the area around a star where conditions could support liquid water — and hence, potentially life.

TOI-715 b is described as 1 1/2 times the size of our home planet and circles a diminutive, ruddy star, according to research spearheaded by Georgina Dransfield from the University of Birmingham. The discovery is featured in the prestigious “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society” journal.

Intriguingly, a second planet may also exist in the “habitable zone” of the same system.

If the existence of this neighboring planet, thought to be approximately the same size as Earth, is confirmed, it would be the smallest habitable-zone planet discovered by TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), according to a press statement from NASA.

“Astronomers are beginning to write a whole new chapter in our understanding of exoplanets – planets beyond our solar system,” NASA said in a statement. “The newest spaceborne instruments, including those onboard NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, are designed not just to detect these distant worlds, but to reveal some of their characteristics. That includes the composition of their atmospheres, which could offer clues to the possible presence of life.”

Definitions can vary on what constitutes a “habitable zone,” also called the “Goldilocks zone” — not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

However, NASA uses measurements of a “narrower and potentially more robust definition” over the looser “optimistic” one. The agency stated that its stricter definitions still place TOI-715 b, and the speculated smaller exoplanet, in prime position relative to their host star.

Given its proximity to the parent star, a red dwarf significantly smaller and cooler than our Sun, TOI-715 b experiences a fast orbit, with a year lasting just 19 Earth days. These tight orbits allow planets like TOI-715 b to be detected and observed more easily.

Since TESS’s deployment in April 2018, the satellite has continually enhanced our inventory of exoplanets located in habitable zones.

The hope is that with the assistance of the James Webb Space Telescope, which also seeks to probe the atmospheres of these exoplanets, we may learn more about their makeup and prevailing conditions — and thus the chances of life there.