Astronomers Unveil Potential for New Earth-Like Planet 146 Light-Years Away, But Surface Temperature May Be as Cold as -70C
In a groundbreaking discovery, an international team of scientists has found a planet that could potentially support life, located approximately 146 light-years from Earth. The newly discovered exoplanet, named HD 137010 b, is roughly the size of our own planet and orbits a sun-like star in the constellation of Hercules.
Orbiting its parent star every 355 days, HD 137010 b's distance from the star could lead to surface temperatures as low as -70C. To put this into perspective, Mars' average temperature is around -67C (-89F). The star itself is cooler and dimmer than our sun, suggesting that the planet may face harsh conditions.
The team's findings were made possible by data captured in 2017 by NASA's Kepler space telescope's extended mission, K2. Citizen scientists played a crucial role in the discovery when they first detected the faint signal of the transit event that revealed HD 137010 b.
"We were initially excited to find what we thought was a transiting planet," said Dr. Chelsea Huang, one of the researchers involved in the study. "But after triple-checking our results, it became clear that this truly is an exoplanet."
The team's excitement lies in the fact that HD 137010 b is relatively close to us - approximately 150 light-years away. This proximity makes it a prime target for future observations with advanced telescopes.
According to astrophysicist Dr. Sara Webb, who was not involved in the research, more data is needed to confirm the planet as a confirmed exoplanet. "We're talking about a gold standard of three detections," she said. "One transit detection is intriguing, but it's just one piece of the puzzle."
While HD 137010 b bears some resemblance to our own planet, Webb noted that it could also be a "super snowball" - a large, icy world with potential for significant amounts of water, much of which may be frozen.
In terms of travel, reaching this distant exoplanet would require tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of years at current speeds.
In a groundbreaking discovery, an international team of scientists has found a planet that could potentially support life, located approximately 146 light-years from Earth. The newly discovered exoplanet, named HD 137010 b, is roughly the size of our own planet and orbits a sun-like star in the constellation of Hercules.
Orbiting its parent star every 355 days, HD 137010 b's distance from the star could lead to surface temperatures as low as -70C. To put this into perspective, Mars' average temperature is around -67C (-89F). The star itself is cooler and dimmer than our sun, suggesting that the planet may face harsh conditions.
The team's findings were made possible by data captured in 2017 by NASA's Kepler space telescope's extended mission, K2. Citizen scientists played a crucial role in the discovery when they first detected the faint signal of the transit event that revealed HD 137010 b.
"We were initially excited to find what we thought was a transiting planet," said Dr. Chelsea Huang, one of the researchers involved in the study. "But after triple-checking our results, it became clear that this truly is an exoplanet."
The team's excitement lies in the fact that HD 137010 b is relatively close to us - approximately 150 light-years away. This proximity makes it a prime target for future observations with advanced telescopes.
According to astrophysicist Dr. Sara Webb, who was not involved in the research, more data is needed to confirm the planet as a confirmed exoplanet. "We're talking about a gold standard of three detections," she said. "One transit detection is intriguing, but it's just one piece of the puzzle."
While HD 137010 b bears some resemblance to our own planet, Webb noted that it could also be a "super snowball" - a large, icy world with potential for significant amounts of water, much of which may be frozen.
In terms of travel, reaching this distant exoplanet would require tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of years at current speeds.
?! I mean, we're already having so much trouble with climate change and pollution on our own planet, let alone another one being this harsh 
. -70C is like, crazy cold! But at the same time, it's kinda cool (pun intended) to think about the possibility of finding a new home for humans someday 
. And I'm not even thinking about space travel, that's just insane 
. What do u guys think? Should we start looking into colonizing other planets ASAP or is that just sci-fi nonsense 
.
it's 146 light yrs away, which is like, who knows how long it'll take us to get there even if we dont have some crazy new tech 
plus its prob not gonna be a good spot for life as we no it, like who needs that kinda harsh enviro 
. And let's be real, who needs sunny weather when you can have -70C vibes? Sounds like a great excuse to stay in bed all day! But seriously, if this exoplanet is as cool as everyone says (pun intended), we should start planning our intergalactic vacations ASAP!
. And what's with the "relatively close" distance? It's not like we can just hop on a spaceship and take a quick Sunday drive there. The team's finding is cool and all, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.
️ The universe is full of mysteries, and sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. It's a reminder that we're still just scratching the surface of what's out there in the cosmos 
. If its got water, that's like the ultimate ingredient for life right? But at the same time, if its as cold as -70C, then how much of that water would be liquid even when the sun is shining?
. Tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years? That's like...what even is a human lifespan in space terms? 
I mean, we're talking about a surface temp of -70C, which is even colder than Mars, so imagine the cosmic snowstorm 
that would be on this place. But at the same time, it's exciting because it could have lots of water, maybe frozen or whatever 
. And honestly, I'm also kinda bummed that we'd need like, tens of thousands of years to get there 
i mean, i remember when we were still using those old weather satellites back in the day and they couldn't even accurately predict temperature fluctuations. and now we've got telescopes that can detect signals from planets 146 light-years away... it's like science fiction come to life 
about this new Earth-like planet discovery! 146 light-years away is still pretty cool tho, I'd love to see more data on it, like what's the atmosphere like? Can we confirm that there's water on this thing? It's crazy to think about surface temps as low as -70C tho, Mars already struggles with that, how are they gonna survive? 
I'm also thinking about the travel time tho... thousands of years is a looong way 
i mean, surface temp of -70c is crazy cold 
Their work was super crucial to getting us here. We should always support and thank our online community members for contributing to cool discoveries like this! 
I think this is a huge step forward for astrobiology and maybe one day we'll have some answers about life beyond Earth