Spanish, Swiss and Italian astronomers have discovered a super-earth 21 light-years from Earth, located in the habitable zone of its star.
In terms of mass, the object surpasses our home world by 2.8 times, being the smallest super-Earth of all located near the solar system. The exoplanet revolves around the star GJ 625 (Gliese 625) of spectral type M2, which is approximately three times lighter than the Sun.
The super-earth, dubbed GJ 625 b, completes a full orbit in 14.6 days. The planet is at a distance of 0.08 AU from its sun. e. (astronomical units). According to calculations, the super-earth could be located near the inner edge of the habitable zone. Scientists estimate the average surface temperature of GJ 625 b at 350 kelvin (77 ° C). The results were obtained using the HARPS-N spectrograph at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in the Canary Islands. Further studies of the object, as experts suggest, will answer questions about the atmosphere of a celestial body and the possibility of the existence of water on its surface.
Super-Earths are a class of planets whose mass is higher than the mass of the Earth, but significantly lower than the mass of gas giants such as Saturn or Jupiter. The first super-earth was discovered in 1991. The object became, by compatibility, the first exoplanet to be discovered.
Ilya Vedmedenko