Scientists have discovered a planet that could have the good conditions to support life, and it is one of the closest known planets around Earth. The planet, called GJ 3378b, is about 25 light-years away, which is very close to the Milky Way galaxy. It is about twice the size of Earth and orbits its star in the Sun’s habitable zone, where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist. The planet also receives about 90% of the sunlight that Earth receives from the Sun. Because of this, astronomers say it is one of the most promising nearby planets in the search for life beyond our solar system.
What scientists discovered about GJ 3378b and why it is important
The study published in The Astrophysical Journal titled ‘A Revised Mass and Period for the Habitable Zone super-Earth GJ 3378 b: A Planet Straddling the Cosmic Shoreline ’ was led by Paul Robertson, an associate professor of astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. The researchers updated earlier measurements and found that the planet has about 2.3 times the mass of Earth. They also confirmed that it orbits inside its star’s habitable zone, also known as the Goldilocks zone, where conditions may be suitable for liquid water.“It’s one of our closest cosmic neighbours. Twenty-five light-years sounds like a long way, but the Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years across, so in that respect it’s our next-door neighbour”, as reported by the new york postsaid.The team made the discovery using two ground-based instruments: the Habitable-zone Planet Finder on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Texas and the NEID Spectrometer on the WIYN Telescope in Arizona. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and Nasa.
Why GJ 3378b’s atmosphere is so important in the search for life
Although GJ 3378b looks promising, scientists still do not know one very important thing, whether it has an atmosphere. Without an atmosphere, it is much less likely that liquid water could exist on the planet’s surface, making life as we know it much less likely.The planet lies close to what scientists call the cosmic shoreline. This is the point where radiation from a star can slowly strip away a planet’s atmosphere. Mars is an example from our own solar system. Scientists believe it once had a much thicker atmosphere, but over billions of years, much of it was lost because of radiation.Robertson explained how thin an atmosphere really is by comparing Earth to an apple. He said that if Earth were the size of an apple, its atmosphere would be only as thick as the apple’s skin. Even though it is so thin, it is enough to create the pressure needed for liquid water to exist.
When will scientists know if GJ 3378b could support life
Scientists say the answer will take time. At the moment, there is no space telescope capable of confirming whether GJ 3378b has an atmosphere.That job is expected to be carried out by Nasa’s planned Habitable Worlds Observatory, which is currently expected to launch in the 2040s. The telescope will be able to take direct images of planets like GJ 3378b and study their atmospheres in detail.If scientists confirm that the planet has an atmosphere, they will then search for biosignatures. These are chemicals in a planet’s atmosphere that could have been produced by living organisms.“I think that’s just too much fun,” Robertson said while talking about the possibility of searching for signs of life.The discovery also adds GJ 3378b to the growing list of nearby planets that future space telescopes will study. Robertson said scientists are still exploring our nearby cosmic neighbourhood, looking for planets around the closest stars because they are the easiest places to search for signs of life.For now, GJ 3378b remains one of the most exciting nearby planets discovered so far. It is the right size, sits in the right part of its star system and receives almost the same amount of energy that Earth receives from the Sun. Whether it can actually support life is a question scientists hope to answer in the future.