Earth-like Planet ‘TOI-1452 B’ Potentially Covered With ‘Giant Ocean’ Discovered

Astronomers’ hunt to find an Earth-like terrain has got them closer to a new small exoplanet which is being termed the ‘Super-Earth’. Called TOI-1452b, this exoplanet is located 100 light years away from the Earth and appears to be the best candidate for a watery world like our own.

The interesting findings were published in The Astronomical Journal by the American Astronomical Society. The team of researchers was led by Charles Cadieux, a PhD student at the University of Montreal. The transits were first detected by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and later observed by the PESTO camera installed on the telescope of the Mont Mégantic Observatory.

TOI-1452b has a size and mass slightly larger than that of the Earth. It is located at a distance from its star where its temperature would neither be too hot nor too cold. Astronomers are believing it to be an ‘ocean planet’, which means a planet that is covered with a thick layer of water. The measured planetary mass and bulk density are suggestive of the planet having a rocky core surrounded by a volatile-rich envelope. As per the reports, a year on this exoplanet will last only for a span of 11 days. “But because the red-dwarf star is smaller and cooler than our Sun, the planet receives a similar amount of light from its star as Venus does from our Sun,” reported NASA.

Research on this ‘super-earth’ would likely be done with the help of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). JWST would use transit spectroscopy to reveal this intriguing exoplanet’s true nature.

The team of researchers concluded that since the exoplanet is found to receive modest irradiation, it can be a ‘good candidate’ for ‘water world’.

Keywords: Planet Like Earth, TOI-1452b, Exoplanet Like Earth, Planet With Water

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