It is said that the earth is just a blue sandstone in the vast space, but how difficult it is to find another earth in the universe!
Some media reported that scientists have discovered another “enlarged version” of the Earth that is extremely promising for life. This discovery makes many astronomers very happy, because with the existing astronomical observation methods of mankind, we may be able to observe clues of life on its surface.
This newly discovered planet is named LHS 1140b. It can receive relatively sufficient stellar light, which is a key and necessary condition for the existence of liquid water, and liquid water is where carbon-based organisms represented by life on Earth appear. and the basic elements of existence.
According to the Kepler diagram, LHS 1140b is about 39 light-years away from the solar system. The currently successfully built large astronomical telescope FAST in China and other telescope arrays have sufficient technical capabilities to capture the spectra of various molecules on its planetary surface and atmosphere.
Amaury Terrio, an expert at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, said: “The planet discovered this time has so many similarities with the Earth. It is really exciting to think that such a similar planet can be found so close to the solar system. ”
The Sky Survey Cluster had noticed some clues pointing to this planet as early as 14, but due to the widespread interference, researchers did not pay too much attention until Jason, who was working at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in the United States at the time. Dittman began analyzing the data from scratch, and the scientific community finally and unexpectedly confirmed LHS 1140b.
It is estimated that this planet is seven times the mass of the Earth, and simple spectral observations have convinced scientists that it is a time-lapse planet. We would have a greater chance of finding life similar to ours on rocky planets than on gaseous planets.
“It turns out it was there all along,” said Dittmann, now at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In order to further confirm its existence, scientists teamed up with four astronomical telescopes to conduct cluster observations.
The joint observation finally discovered the small star hiding in a corner of the dim universe, and the planet LHS 1140b silently orbiting it.
The biggest advantage of LHS 1140b is that it is at a moderate distance from its own star, which means that its temperature will be very suitable, similar to that of the Earth today. Therefore, scientists speculate that there may be liquid water on the surface of HS 1140b.
