Scientists discovered a rocky exoplanet with an atmosphere orbiting in a habitable zone, raising new questions about the potential for life.

For the first time, scientists have found a rocky planet with an atmosphere orbiting in a star’s habitable zone. Researchers from Harvard University say the Earth-like world has conditions similar to those on Earth.

The exoplanet, LHS 1140 b, is 48 light-years from Earth. It orbits a red dwarf star at a distance close enough for water to remain liquid, but far enough away that it would not boil.

  • ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    1 month ago

    Very cool discovery. But just to temper any overly excited reactions…

    Whether the atmosphere could support life remains unknown.

    Also LHS 1140 b is tidally locked to its red dwarf Star, which means one side of it is constantly facing the star and the other side is always saving away from the star. So the fat far side will be very, very cold. While the doesn’t rule out the possibilities of life or a breathable atmosphere, it does complicate all that.

    • artifex@piefed.socialEnglish
      41·
      1 month ago

      True, but up till now we didn’t even know if a tidally locked planet around a red dwarf could even hold an atmosphere (since red dwarfs tend to have much more powerful x-ray flares, and planets sit much closer to them than our G-type sun). So the fact that this one does have lightweight Helium in the atmosphere would seem to significantly increase the odds that there’s life elsewhere, since red dwarfs are super common and if there’s 1 that can hold an atmosphere, odds are that there are many, many others.

      • andyburke@fedia.io
        0·
        1 month ago

        Aren’t there issues with constant and unsurvivable wind as atmosphere is heated on the sunward side and cold atmo from the leeward rushes in underneath?

      • Björn@swg-empire.deEnglish
        0·
        1 month ago

        Ryloth from Star Wars where the people with the head tentacles are from is such a planet.

    • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      0·
      1 month ago

      Being tidally locked could make evolution less dynamic than earth, but it also means there’s a Goldilocks zone in there that’s always around the right temperature and things could just migrate a little to the east or west to stay within that area. What I find a bit odd is that they would know the approximate gravity of the planet by now, but there’s no mention of that in the article. Makes me assume it’s bad. Probably too dense for anything but simple life forms.

      We need a nice orange dwarf star planet within 15 percent of our own gravity and a good molten core, a moon or two, and a bunch of big ass blocker planets to keep most large asteroids from hitting it and a low enough amount of radioactive crap on it.

      • Gsus4@mander.xyzEnglish
        0·
        1 month ago

        I’m trying to imagine the weather: Too hot on the sunny side…too cold on the dark side…and in the sunset/terminator region…sounds nice, but…no…superstorm cells and permanent hypercane-strength winds…maybe underground :/

  • EnsignWashout@startrek.websiteEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    But is it anything like Earth? That’s what I want to know. (Edit: Yes it is!)

    Edit: I’m told it is Earth-like. I’ve added that here in case the article was too ambiguous about any similarities it might have with Earth.

  • thenextguy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    Shouldn’t the atmosphere be, you know, around the planet. And not 48 light-years away.

    Alt: “How the atmosphere got 48 ly from the planet I’ll never know.” - Groucho

  • frongt@lemmy.zipEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    Researchers are not yet able to determine what the atmosphere is made of.

    Cherubim and his team determined that helium is escaping from the exoplanet’s upper atmosphere.

    So don’t hold your breath waiting to find out if there’s any sign of life.

  • runner_g@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    If 48 light years sounds realtively close, well it is, relatively. For comparison, It’s taken voyager 1 49 years to reach 1 light day away from earth. Traveling at a constant rate, it will reach 48 light years in in the year 860,457. Meanwhile, the universe is estimated to be 93 BILLION light-years wide.

    • AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      the universe is estimated to be 93 BILLION light-years wide.

      Only the part we can see. There’s more.

      Also, that measurement is 20 years old by now, so the current size should be 93 billion and 20 light years wide.

  • MonkderVierte@lemmy.zipEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    For the first time, scientists have found a rocky planet with an atmosphere orbiting in a star’s habitable zone.

    That’s a lie: List of potentially habitable exoplanets

    Also, why is this narrative pushed everywhere? The paper says nothing about “being the first”, it’s about escaping helium (also on Wikipedia now). And the planet was discovered in 2017. Determining the atmosphere composition from the light passing through, is also nothing new for exoplanets, making it interesting for potential life similiar to earths’ early cyanobacteria.

    And LHS 1140b is not like earth, it’s a super-earth: nearly 2x as large and over 5x as heavy. But it is a ocean planet in the habitable zone of a red dwarf.

    And lastly, that tabloid should at least add a publish date to it’s articles. Also, is this AI-written? Contradictions in two sentences!