An international astronomer team confirmed the discovery of an exoplanet that orbits around HD 20794, a star with a mass slightly lower than the sun located at 20 light years of the earth, reports the University of Oxford.
In 2022, the scientist Michael Cretignier first detected the signal of the new planet, baptized as HD 20794 D, while examining the archived data of the HARPS spectrograph installed in the chair observatory, in Chile.
KNOWING A NEW SUPERTIRA
The confirmation of its existence occurred after this signal was verified by means of the measurements registered for two decades by the HARPS and its espresso successor, located in the VLT telescope, also in Chile.
At the same time, the exoplanet is located in the habitable zone of its star, that is, at the right distance of it so that there can be liquid water on its surface, one of the compounds necessary for the development of life.
Unlike most planets, which follow an almost circular orbit, HD 20794 D moves in an elliptical trajectory. This means that its distance from the star changes significantly, causing the planet between and leaving the habitability zone over a year.
Apt to house life?
Although it is in the habitability zone, astronomers commented that it is too early to ensure that HD 20794 D could house life. However, they stressed that their finding, reported in Astronomy & Astrophysics magazine, could open the way to future research focused on detecting signs of life outside the solar system.
For his part, the researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (Spain) Alejandro Suárez Mascareño stressed that the new exoplanet “is not a second home for humanity, but its position and peculiar orbit” will allow to examine “how the habitability conditions vary to over time and how these variations can influence the evolution of the planet’s atmosphere. “
With current RT information
