Newly discovered Earth-sized planet may lack an atmosphere

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By mohsinrocky444@gmail.com

Earth-Sized Planet Just Found Probably Doesn’t Have an Atmosphere
Just 55 light years away, astronomers from MIT, the University of Liège, and other institutions have found a new planet orbiting a tiny, frigid star. Though it is probably devoid of an atmosphere, this planet, known as SPECULOOS-3b, is comparable in size and rocky composition to Earth.

Finding and Features
A study in Nature Astronomy validated the finding of SPECULOOS-3b. The SPECULOOS project (Search for Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) used a network of telescopes to locate planets around ultracool dwarf stars.

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A far smaller and fainter ultracool dwarf star than our sun is orbited by SPECULOOS-3b. Actually, this star produces 1,000 times less light and is around one-tenth the size of the sun. Only half as heated as the sun, it is comparable in size to Jupiter. The planet SPECULOOS-3b completes an orbit in about 17 hours, hence even though the star is dim, it bombards the planet with a large quantity of energy; a year on SPECULOOS-3b is shorter than a day on Earth.

Effects of Direct Radiation
SPECULOOS-3b is exposed to 16 times as much radiation from its star as Earth is. The planet is now a barren, rocky world since this powerful radiation probably annihilated any atmosphere it may have had.

Perspectives in Science
SPECULOOS-3b offers scientists a rare chance to investigate its surface composition and geological past directly because it lacks an atmosphere. Potentially, researchers may identify the kinds of rocks that are there and investigate geological phenomena including plate tectonics, volcanic activity, and magma oceans.

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“SPECULOOS-3b is the first planet for which we can consider moving toward constraining surface properties of planets beyond the solar system,” MIT associate professor of planetary sciences Julien de Wit, co-author of the paper, stated. We could essentially begin studying exoplanetary geology with this world. How amazing is that?

University Research Partnership
Contributions to the work came from MIT research scientists Benjamin Rackham and Artem Burdanov, University of Liège lead author Michel Gillon, and associates from other observatories and universities around the world.

Observational Travelogue
In 2021, the SPECULOOS network—which comprises six robotic telescopes, four in the Southern Hemisphere and two in the Northern Hemisphere—detected the first indications of SPECULOOS-3b. Using these telescopes, one may search the sky for planets orbiting ultracool dwarf stars. SPECULOOS is associated with the TRAPPIST survey, which around the star TRAPPIST-1 found seven Earth-like planets.

A possible transit was detected in 2021 by a SPECULOOS telescope in front of an ultracool dwarf star located 55 light years distant. Clearer data from MIT’s Artemis telescope in 2022 verified the transit and sparked the targeted effort that found SPECULOOS-3b.

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Confirming the Planet
The discovery of SPECULOOS-3b was verified by the Artemis telescope at MIT as well as by other observatories and the remainder of the SPECULOOS network. Every seventeen hours the planet was seen to orbit its star. Scientists estimated its size, which came to be roughly the same as Earth, using the amount of light it obstructed during each transit.

With its surface characteristics and geological past, SPECULOOS-3b’s discovery creates new opportunities for research of rocky planets outside of our solar system. Particularly because it lacks an atmosphere, this planet is an intriguing topic for further investigation.

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