Speculoos-3b is “virtually the same size as Earth.”
Astronomers have found a planet resembling Earth. It is located near a small, cold star.
The Guardian writes about this.
As it became known, the new planet was named Speculoos-3b. It is located at a distance of 55 light years from Earth. And the planet was discovered when it passed in front of its father star – an ultra-cold red dwarf. It is twice as hot as the Sun and 100 times less bright.
At the same time, astronomers explained that Speculoos-3b is “virtually the same size as Earth.” It orbits its star in 17 hours, which means that its year is shorter than an Earth day.
“We believe that the planet rotates synchronously, so that the same side always faces the star, which is called the day side, just as the Moon faces the Earth. On the other hand, the night side will be immersed in endless darkness,” said study lead author Michel Gillon of the University of Liege in Belgium.
In addition, this is the second planetary system found around such a star.
This is the second known planetary system found around such a star. The first is Trappist-1, which is 40 light years away and contains seven planets.
Astrologers explained that ultra-cool red dwarf stars make up about 70% of the stars in our galaxy and live for about 100 billion years. Because stars are dim and scattered across the sky, astronomers must observe them for several weeks to notice a planet's transit.
Recall that the dangerous asteroid “Apophis” is approaching the Earth.
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