GJ 1132b – planetaria

Nearby ‘super-Earth’ exoplanet may be best place yet to search for alien life

April 24, 2017 by Paul Scott Anderson

Artist’s conception of the exoplanet LHS 1140b. Image Credit: ESO

Just recently, an exo-planetary system called TRAPPIST-1, with seven known planets close in size to Earth, was announced by astronomers. Some of those planets are in the star’s habitable zone, meaning that they could potentially be habitable for some kind of life. Then, another Earth-sized world was found orbiting the star GJ 1132b, and may have water and methane in its atmosphere. Now, another similar planet has been found orbiting another nearby star. It is also close in size to Earth and resides in the star’s habitable zone. According to scientists, it is another prime candidate in the search for alien life and may even be the best one yet.

Atmosphere detected on nearby ‘super-Earth’ exoplanet

April 11, 2017April 9, 2017 by Paul Scott Anderson

Artist’s conception of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1132b. Image Credit: MPIA

For the first time, astronomers have detected an atmosphere surrounding a “super-Earth” exoplanet which is close in size to Earth, another key step towards finding a world similar in size to ours that is also habitable. It’s not Earth 2.0 just yet, but it’s another indication that we are getting closer to finding a world that reminds us of home.

GJ 1132b: nearest Earth-sized exoplanet discovered so far may be a ‘Venus twin’

November 16, 2015 by Paul Scott Anderson

Artist’s conception of GJ 1132b, an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting a nearby star. Conditions on this world, however, are probably more like Venus than Earth. Image Credit: Dana Berry

Astronomers have discovered another Earth-sized exoplanet that is the closest one to our own Solar System found so far, but it might not be a nice place to live or even visit, with conditions thought to be more like Venus than our home world.