This is a unique event, because most of the star systems studied do not even have potentially “Earth-standard” planets. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has been used by NASA since 2018 as a special tool to search for exoplanets and has been able to detect them ever since. 285 confirmed exoplanets and more than 6,000 candidates.

One of the most promising exoplanets TOI 700 days, TOI is located in 700 star system. The Earth-sized planet is located in the star’s habitable zone (where liquid water can exist). Now scientists have learned that it has a neighbor with similar characteristics – the first information about it appeared in October 2021. After closer observation, the information was confirmed.

More information about the found planet

In 2020, scientists discovered three planets around the small star TOI 700 (TESS Object of Interest), located about 100 light-years from Earth. The star is a red dwarf without unexpected bursts of activity that can “fry” possible life. Of the three initially discovered planets, two are very close to the star, but the third – TOI 700 d, is in theory quite suitable for life. This world is about 20% larger than Earth and makes a complete revolution around a star every 37 Earth days. The temperature on the planet allows liquid water to exist on the surface.

Now scientists have reported that the discovered planet TOI 700 e is outside the “habitable zone”, but this concept is very relative, because according to the scientists’ latest results, there could once have been water on both Mars and Mars. for example, on Venus.

According to astronomers, TOI 700 e is 95% the size of Earth, its orbital time around the star is 28 Earth days, and the observation object TOI 700 is in orbit between c and d. In addition, the planet appears to be “tidally locked” – it does not rotate on its axis and, like the Moon, is constantly facing the local star on one side.

Scientists will continue to research

TESS will focus on TOI 700 again in about a week. Further studies are expected, especially with the help of other telescopes. Scientists hope that further observations will make it possible to determine the masses of all four planets discovered in the system, and information from the Hubble telescope will make it possible to predict the ultraviolet radiation of the star, which will make it possible to build climate models.

While the James Webb telescope has already demonstrated its ability to detect components of exoplanet atmospheres, TOI 700 will not be used to study the d and e planets because they are relatively small and atmospheric analysis takes too long. However, its use to study TOI 700 b, the largest planet in the system, has not been ruled out.

According to the scientists, if the star had been a little closer or the planet a little larger, it would have been detected in the first year of the TESS operation. In practice, it took 14 observation cycles to recognize the object.