The Evening Standard has reported a ground-breaking discovery just 40 light-years away, astronomers have identified an Earth-like planet named Gliese 12 b that could potentially support human life. This exciting find is a significant step and the discovery is also the kind of exoplanet that our Alien Worlds study was based on.

Gliese 12 b orbits its host star, a cool red dwarf named Gliese 12, every 12.8 days. The planet, comparable in size to Venus and slightly smaller than Earth, has an estimated surface temperature of 42°C. This is notably cooler than most of the over 5,000 exoplanets confirmed so far, making it a compelling candidate for further study.

Professor Thomas Wilson from the University of Warwick, who was involved in the discovery, emphasized the importance of this find for research into Earth-like planets. However, the planet's atmosphere remains a mystery, and understanding it is crucial to determine if Gliese 12 b can maintain conditions suitable for liquid water and potentially life.

Masayuki Kuzuhara and Akihiko Fukui, leading researchers from the Astrobiology Centre in Tokyo, have referred to Gliese 12 b as an "exo-Venus" due to its size and the energy it receives from its star. The discovery was confirmed using data from NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), highlighting the planet's unique characteristics.

Gliese 12 b's proximity to its star—just 7% of the distance between Earth and the Sun—allows it to receive 1.6 times more energy than Earth. Despite red dwarfs typically being magnetically active, Gliese 12 shows no signs of extreme behaviour, making it an ideal target to study the retention of atmospheres on Earth-size planets orbiting cool stars.

Dr. Vincent Van Eylen from UCL pointed out that although Gliese 12 b is much closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun, its temperature may be quite similar to Earth's due to the star's smaller size and lower surface temperature. This intriguing aspect enhances its potential habitability, warranting further investigation with advanced telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope.

The findings from Tokyo's research team have been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, while the contributions from Shishir Dholakia and Larissa Palethorpe are detailed in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

[The Evening Standard]

Astronomers discover potentially habitable planet | Evening Standard