Discover a water-rich exoplanet 50 light years away

The unique exoplanet, which contains large amounts of water, was discovered by the European Space Agency’s CHEOPS space telescope.

one discovery outer planets Through the European Space Agency’s space telescope Chips It is considered a sensation. This is the planet d in the star system No. 2 wolveswho is he 50 light years circles of the earth. The discovery occurred in the spring while observing the inner planets b and c, when planet d moving outward completely unexpectedly burst into the picture.

Discover the unique No 2 Lobby D

Since the star was almost everything It ran for 107 daysThe chance of seeing her pull in front of the star is very slim. According to the research team that also did The Graz Institute for Space Research (IWF) belongs to the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in fact it was This is the first time an exoplanet has been observed for more than 100 days in this way.

at Crossing Planets block out a small portion of the light as they pass in front of their star. This fall in the light led the CHEOPS team to the extraordinary discovery of Nu2 Lupi d. These transits can be used to study a planet’s atmosphere, orbit, size, and interior in more detail. Most of the long-period exoplanets discovered so far have been found near stars that are too faint to allow for detailed observations. According to the researchers, Nu2 Lupi is bright enough and therefore an attractive target for further observations.

8.8 times the mass of the earth, a lot of water

Measurements made by CHEOPS showed that planet d is located around 2.5 times the radius of the Earth has and has Mass 8.8 times the size of the Earth he is. Using the new data, the scientific team was able to accurately determine the average density of the planets. Planet B is found to be composed mostly of rocks, while planets C and D are believed to contain large amounts of water surrounded by small amounts of hydrogen and helium.

In fact, planets C and D host much more water than Earth: 25 percent Its mass consists of Water, compared to less than 0.1 percent for planet Earth. Co-author Andrea Bonfante of the International Monetary Fund adds: “Our calculations show that the planet’s gaseous envelope was already in place when it formed.”