An international team of astronomers has discovered, in only 31 light-years from Earth, a rocky exoplanet smaller than Earth (about three-quarters its size or slightly larger than Mars), which has about half the mass of our planet, is dense like iron, while in addition it is very fast and his year lasts only eight hours.
Specifically, it is estimated that it has 72% of the Earth’s radius and 55% of its mass. Of the approximately 5,000 exoplanets that have been discovered to date, this one is the one with the smallest mass. Also because it is relatively close to Earth, it is an ideal target for further study.
The 78 researchers, led by Christine Lam and the Sillard Tsizmantia The German Aerospace Research Institute (DLR), which published in the journal Science, made the discovery with the American Space Telescope TESS and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) ground-based telescope.
The characteristics of the exoplanet GJ 367b
The exoplanet GJ 367b moves around its star – a relatively cold red dwarf (a class M star) that is half the size of the Sun – in a very short time, traversing a complete orbit in just eight hours, which is the length of its year. Comparatively, The fastest planet in our solar system, Mercury, has a year of 88 days.
The new exoplanet is rocky and much denser than Earth, possibly having a very large iron core (occupying up to 86% of its interior), bearing similarities to Mercury, which also has a disproportionately large iron and nickel core. According to the APE-MPE, due to the proximity to its star, the temperature on the surface of the planet GJ 367b is estimated at 1,300 to 1,500 degrees Celsius, enough to melt iron and rocks.
The radiation that the exoplanet receives from its parent star is estimated to be at least 500 times stronger than the Earth receives from the Sun., therefore – in combination with its hot surface – is not expected to be hospitable for life and therefore can not be considered a “second Earth”. However, there are probably other exoplanets in the same stellar system.
Here you will see the relevant scientific publication.
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