DATE2021.12.06 #Press Releases

Discovery of a small exoplanet with low insolation near the solar system

Disclaimer: machine translated by DeepL which may contain errors.

The University of Tokyo

National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Center for Astrobiology

Japan Science and Technology Agency

Overview

A research team led by researchers from the University of Tokyo and the National Astrobiology Center of the National Institutes of Natural Sciences has discovered a new exoplanet, TOI-2285b, in the neighborhood of our solar system (138 light years away) through the collaborative Research Organizations of the Exoplanet Search Satellite TESS and ground-based telescopes.

The planet is about 1.7 times the size (radius) of the Earth and receives about 1.5 times as much solar radiation from its host star as the Earth receives from the Sun, which is weaker than most exoplanets discovered to date. The planet is thought to have a slightly hotter environment than Earth, but if the planet has an internal layer of _H2O and a hydrogen-based atmosphere, liquid water could exist on the planet's surface.

Since the planet's host star is bright enough to allow detailed follow-up observations, it is expected that more detailed information on the planet's interior composition will be obtained by studying the planet's mass and atmospheric composition.

Figure: Illustration of an imagined exoplanet with a hydrogen atmosphere and oceans (credit: Sasaokamiho/SASAMI-GEO-SCIENCE, inc.).

This research was conducted by Dr. Masahiro Kimura, a second-year doctoral student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science, and Professor Taiyo Ikoma (formerly Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science) at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).

For more information, please visit the website of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo.