Scientist have discovered a new exoplanet named TOI-1452 b. The exoplanet, which is said to be covered with a thick layer of water is located some 100 light-years away from Earth.
TOI-1452 b, tagged as an "Ocean World," was discovered by a team of researchers at the Université de Montréal. It is said to be orbiting within a binary star system nestled into the Draco constellation, as per CNET.
The study about the newly discovered exoplanet was published in this month issue of The Astronomical Journal. The team leader of the study, Charles Cadieux, announced the discovery of this new exoplanet this week.
New Exoplanet Could Potentially Support Life
The scientists suspected that TOI-1452 b is about 70% larger than Earth. It is said to be roughly five times as massive to "spin to the rhythm of seven Earth days," as per BGR.
According to the study, the temperature of the exoplanet is possibly neither too hot nor too cold, since liquid water exist on its surface.
TOI-1452 is also located at an ideal distance from its stars, which means it could potentially support life, as per BGR. However, the scientists do not know yet what kind of life might thrive in such kind of "Ocean World."
The scientists said that the density of the exoplanet appears to be "consistent with having an incredibly deep ocean."
According to NASA, the exoplanet could also be potentially a huge rock with little to no atmosphere. But possibly, it could have an atmosphere built with hydrogen and helium.
"TOI-1452 b is one of the best candidates for an ocean planet that we have found to date," Cadieux said on Wednesday in a press release.
The team leader said that TOI-1452 b's radius and mass suggest a much lower density than a planet made up of metal and rock, such as Earth.
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Scientists Will Need James Webb Space Telescope to Study New Exoplanet
The scientists first found a trail to this ocean world through the surveys from NASA's TESS space telescope.
They found it because there was a slight decrease in the brightness of an area of the sky. With this information, they began speculating that there's a planet larger than Earth within the area.
Thus, the scientists started to examine the area more in-depth, and they eventually discovered TOI-1452 b.
The exoplanet is located within a two-star system just 100 light-years away from Earth. According to BGR, because of its location and the fact that it is covered with water, scientists hope that it could be a planet that we could colonize in the future.
According to scientists, the data gathered from other observation instruments suggest that the "Ocean World" is possibly rocky like Earth.
However, there's a thick layer of water that covers most of the exoplanet's surface. The water possibly make up much of the planet's mass.
Right now, other compositions of TOI-1452 b remains unclear. To determine more about this exoplanet, the scientists will be needing the help of the James Webb space telescope.
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