Astronomers have found a record number of Earth-like planets on a racetrack in the habitable zone of the known star, which is 22 light years from Earth. Planets that have three suns have one side illuminated all day while the other side is immersed in the dark.

The star Gliese 667C in the constellation Scorpio has long been studied. However, it was only with new observations that scientists made a stunning discovery. Instead of three previously known planets, they discovered up to seven, three of which are in the habitable zone of the star. It is assumed that there could be liquid water here. All three planets are called super-Earth.

"This is the first time that three planets have been discovered in a habitable zone in the same system," said one of the authors study, Mikko Tuomi from HertFordshire University (UK). "Thanks to further observations and previous data, we were able to confirm these three planets and confidently reveal a few more. Finding three small planets with one star in the habitable zone is very exciting! ”

"These planets are good candidates for a solid surface and perhaps an Earth-like atmosphere, not something like Jupiter," co-author Rory Barnes said in a press release at the University of Washington.

Barnes added that they are close to each other, which: "It sounds like they are locked in." This causes the same hemispheres to be turned towards the star.

"Fortunately we know that this state can support life," he said.

Gliese 667C is a small-volume star in a three-star Gliese 667 star system 22 light-years from our Sun. It is the darkest star in the system and has a habitable zone and the like the star of a small volume is very weak and cooler.

According to a study to be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, this is, among other things, the first system to be found with a fully habitable zone.

The habitable zone of Gliese 667C is located in an orbit of Mercury's orbit around our Sun.

Planets with a stellar habitable zone are also called Goldilock planets. The three potentially habitable planets of this system are expected to be turned constantly to the same star. This means that their day and year length is the same. On one side there is continuous light and on the other side night.

According to the study, when viewed from these newly discovered planets, the other two suns in the system appear as a pair of very bright stars visible during the day. At night, these suns would illuminate the surface of the planets, just as the full moon shines on Earth.

"The number of potentially habitable planets in our Galaxy is much larger if we can expect to find at least a few of them around each low-volume star. Instead of looking for another 10 stars with a single potentially habitable planet, we now know how to look to find a single star with several habitable planets, ”added co-author Rory Barnes.

Similar systems were found earlier, but most of them were centered around stars that are too hot to be habitable.

 

Source: rt.com