From what this new exoplanet is, to what it could mean for our understanding of the universe
as a whole, and more!
Join us as we reveal to you the discovered two super-Earth exoplanets orbiting a star!
Humanity has a goal to explore the stars, a goal that may find itself getting a boost
in feasibility by the end of the decade.
But we also know that to look outside our solar system is important because we can learn
even more from the planets and stars that range across the solar system and see how
it reflects what is near us.
To that end, one of our greatest goals is to find and research as many exoplanets (a
planet which orbits a star outside the solar system) as we can and see what they are like
and what we can learn from them.
Which is good, because we just found a major discovery which might just change things forever.
Because looking at the brightest red dwarf star in the sky may have presented the best
chance astronomers have yet to analyze the atmospheres of alien worlds — and perhaps
detect whether those worlds have life.
This is according to a new study that was recently released.
Scientists focused on the red dwarf star GJ 887, also known as Gliese 887.
(Red dwarfs are the most common kind of star in the galaxy, and weigh between 7.5% and
50% the mass of the sun.)
At a distance of about 10.7 light-years from Earth, Gliese 887 is the twelfth-closest star.
Furthermore, at visible wavelengths, Gliese 887 is the brightest red dwarf in the sky,
and with nearly half the sun's mass, Gliese 887 is the heaviest red dwarf star within
about 20 light-years of Earth.
That may sound like a lot of needless stats but when it comes to stars you need to know
as much about them to fully understand their power, potential, and lifespan.
Previous work found that many red dwarfs host planetary systems, ones usually made up of
multiple small worlds.
Still, "we've been looking for exoplanets orbiting Gliese 887 for nearly 20 years, and
while we saw hints of a planetary signal, it wasn't strong enough to convince ourselves
that it was a planet," study lead author Sandra Jeffers, an astrophysicist at the University
of Göttingen in Germany, told Space.com.
But that has now changed in a major way.
Pressing forward, the researchers examined Gliese 887 for 80 nights in 2018.
They relied on the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) instrument at La Silla
Observatory in Chile, combining this data with archival measurements of the star spanning
nearly two decades.
Astronomers use two strategies to discover most exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar
system.
One method relies on how distant worlds regularly block out a fraction of light from their stars
as they pass in front of their stars from the observer's perspective.
However, this method will only spot planets that pass through the line of sight between
Earth and their stars, meaning it will only detect a small fraction of exoplanets.
Instead, the scientists in this latest work looked for any wobbles from Gliese 887 due
to gravitational tugs from orbiting planets.
This was where their breakthrough came from.
They found the red dwarf has at least two "super-Earth" exoplanets, dubbed Gliese 887
b and Gliese 887 c.
The former is about 4.2 times Earth's mass and orbits just 6.8% of an astronomical unit
(AU) from its star (one astronomical unit is the average distance between Earth and
the sun), whereas the latter is about 7.6 times Earth's mass and orbits 12% of an AU
from the red dwarf.
To be honest, finding even one exoplanet there after two decades of finding nothing would've
been momentous in its own right, but finding two?
That is something truly special.
And yet, that wasn't all.
The researchers also found evidence for a possible third planet farther out from Gliese
887.
Although the red dwarf's two confirmed planets are likely too hot for life as we know it
on Earth, this potential third planet might lie within the star's habitable zone, where
surface temperatures are suitable to host liquid water.
Which by our definitions is important to have life, which is one of the many reasons we
search for exoplanets so we can see if there's another planet of life out there.
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The bright light from this red dwarf might help astronomers learn more about the atmospheres
of its planets by illuminating what ingredients make up those skies, Jeffers said.
(The spectrum or wavelengths of light that an element absorbs or emits can act like a
fingerprint, revealing the identity of the material in question.)
In addition, Gliese 887 is unusually quiet when it comes to flares and other explosive
activity when compared to other red dwarfs.
Which usually destroy the atmospheres of planets next to them within a certain amount of time.
This factor would make it easier to analyze exoplanet atmospheres, because such activity
could get confused with atmospheric signals, she added.
"The host star is the best star that is in close proximity to the Sun because it is an
unusually quiet star," said Sandra Jeffers, lead study author and lecturer at the Institute
for Astrophysics at the University of Göttingen in Germany, in an email to CNN.
"By a quiet star, I mean that it doesn't have the dark starspots or the energetic outbursts
[flares] that we see on the Sun."
The unusually quiet nature of Gliese 887 suggests that if it does possess a planet within its
habitable zone, that world might have a greater chance at life than other red dwarf planets,
which often erupt with dangerous flares.
"When a star is active, this makes it more likely that the original atmosphere can be
blown away, with the result that the planet is less shielded from the star's activity,"
Jeffers said.
"If someone had to live around a red dwarf, they would want to choose a quieter star like
GJ 887," wrote Melvyn Davies, professor of astronomy at the department of astronomy and
theoretical physics at Lund University in Sweden, in a related Perspective article.
Davies was not involved with the study.
"By studying the atmospheres of these planets scientists will be able to understand if the
conditions are amenable for life," Jeffers said.
Previously, the Red Dots team found other exoplanets close to our sun, like the planets
orbiting Proxima Centauri and Barnard's star.
Studying these nearby exoplanets could help astronomers learn more about the formation
and evolution of stars and planets, as well as search for life beyond Earth.
In the future, "our next step is to see if there is a third planet, and to try and detect
exoplanetary atmospheres using the James Webb Space Telescope due to be launched next year,"
Jeffers said.
"If further observations confirm the presence of the third planet in the habitable zone,
then GJ 887 could become one of the most studied planetary systems in the Solar neighborhood,"
Davies wrote.
Which would be an important thing for a whole host of reasons.
Not the least of which is because we've been searching for planets that not only have stars
that are viable for life via their energy output and distance from the planet, but ones
that seem to be perfectly suited for life in some capacity.
Not to be clear, it could turn out that the third planet from the sun is a gas planet,
which if that is the case obviously renders the plan moot.
However, even then, it could be a chance to explore and see all that is going on within
these planets next to a star that won't interfere with study and research.
Believe it or not, one of the biggest things that hinders our look at various exoplanets
are their atmospheres.
We've even gone and found planets that COULD host life in one capacity or another (even
if it's just us landing on the planet to inhabit it) but because we can't study and see through
their atmospheres to see what's truly on the planet and beyond, we find ourselves at a
standstill.
But with GJ 887 and its potential trio of planets, we might have an opportunity to study
these planets and their atmospheres more and see just what is going on with them, and what
we might be able to find out in regards to their capabilities of having life on them,
and more.
Plus, there is a slightly hidden benefit here that can't be ignored, and that's simply that
this trio of planets and their red dwarf star aren't technically too far away from Earth
compared to other "Earth-Like" planets that we have found in the past.
Some of them are dozens or even hundreds of light-years away.
But here?
It's about 11.
For comparison, the "go-to" star system that we "plan" to try and get to in the future
is Alpha Centauri and that's about 4.3 light years away.
So it's not even 3 times that distance away.
Which is good, because at present, our capacity for space travel is not the best, it'll take
us an incredibly long time to try and get us to Mars, let alone a place in another star
system.
But, that doesn't mean we give up, just the opposite.
Like Davies noted, if there is a planet that could be in the habitable zone of the red
dwarf star it'll get studied heavily, which is a good thing, because it'll bring more
details to the forefront in a potentially quicker amount of time, and as such, could
help guide us to choosing whether it, Alpha Centauri or somewhere else might be the best
place for a future exploration.
Once that is determined, it could lead to great study on space travel and get us to
a place where we could travel light-years easier and not take untold lifetimes just
to reach the destination.
Of course, a lot of this is just speculation and hope, as humanity really does want to
travel across the stars and get to another planet that isn't just in our solar system.
But, as our study of the universe has shown, we need to be cautious, because the last thing
we would want to do is go to a planet with a star that isn't stable, or land somewhere
and not know as much as we can about the place we're going to live.
While it may seem like it's taking "forever" to go and find another Earth, there is a reason
for this.
It's not easy to find another Earth, and with so many factors going into the process of
making life on a planet, even having one be slightly off or different can cause a wide
range of problems.
This is another reason that the scientists are wanting to study the atmospheres of the
two confirmed planets (and potentially the third if it arrives) so closely.
Because the more we learn about them, the more we can apply what we've found there to
other planets we've found, especially ones that are close to Red Dwarf stars.
Which again are quite numerous in the universe.
Another factor here is that life may work on other planets differently than it works
on Earth.
Many scientists are hoping that they find life on one of these planets (presumably the
third one that might be there) but the fact is that we have only one example of life in
the universe, and that's Earth.
Which is good and bad for a whole host of reasons.
Because often times we base our findings off of what we KNOW works on Earth...and yet the
universe has shown us that the Earth is very special, downright unique in some ways and
if there is life on other worlds it may have evolved differently than we have on Earth
to live in ways we never could.
Take the GJ 887 planets we've found, the two we know exist.
Because of its closeness to the sun, and their presumed atmospheres, the planets apparently
take between 2-8 times as much energy from their sun than we do from ours.
Which would be bad in a variety of ways for us if that were to suddenly happen to Earth.
Too much energy can mean increased radiation depending on the atmospheric content, as well
as having an incredibly hot temperature.
So we couldn't survive in that without help, but that doesn't mean that another species,
another race, another kind of lifeform couldn't.
We just wouldn't know how they would do it based on what we know about life in the universe.
Where does this leave us exactly?
With the finding of these planets and what they could reveal?
GJ 887 is going to be studied a lot more, and that means we're in a place where patience
and information is required.
Speculation is fine to an extent but hard evidence will be needed to prove whether this
place is a spot that humanity could live on or not, or if other races live on it or not.
But don't forget, these planets could teach us about other worlds and their own atmospheres,
and as a result, just about any information we find from this star and its 2-3 planets
will be valuable for some time to come.
And there you have it, a look at a pair of super-Earths and what they (and their potential
third sibling) could bring to our understanding of planets and whether life is out there in
space.
Do you think that studying these planets will bring us the information that we really want
to know?
Do you think that we'll find something that can truly point to life on other planets?
Or will this be another red herring?
Let us know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel!