So far, scientists have discovered more than 5 thousand planets outside our solar system, and among these planets, there are only 50 planets that orbit their stars at an appropriate distance, or the so-called habitable zone - just like Earth and its distance from the sun - which is the region in which water exists in the liquid state.
These planets are not so close to their stars that the temperatures rise so severely that the water evaporates, nor so far away that they make them so cold, so the temperatures drop and the water freezes on their surface.
Recently, a team of astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Germany discovered a (red dwarf star) they called "Wolf 1069", which is a type of relatively small star compared to the sun.
They named the newly discovered exoplanet, which revolves around it, Wolf 1069 b. Its mass is 1.36 times that of Earth, and it is located in a habitable zone like Earth. The researchers published the results of the study in the journal Astronomy & Science. Astrophysics "(Astronomy & Astrophysics).
"When we analyzed the data of the star "Wolf 1069", we discovered a planet whose size is approximately equal to the size of Earth, and it revolves around its star a full cycle in a period of 15.6 days. ".
Wolf 1069b's cycle is small compared to the Earth's cycle, because it is located at a distance from its star equivalent to 1 to 15 of the distance of the Earth and the Sun, meaning that the distance between it and its star is 15 times closer than the Earth to the Sun.
What are the conditions for a planet to live on?
The star "Wolf 1069" belongs to red dwarfs, which are stars smaller in size than the sun and cooler, which means that the habitable areas around it are near it, unlike our solar system;
The habitable zone is far from the sun and extends from Venus to Mars.
However, the habitability of a planet is not limited to its location in relation to its star.
There are many other factors that determine its suitability, including the emission of X-rays and ultraviolet radiation, the atmosphere and the magnetic field.
Although Wolf 1069b is close to its star, the amount of radiation it receives is about 65% of what Earth receives from the sun.
There must be an atmosphere surrounding the planet, because the atmosphere is responsible for preserving the heat inside the planet, for example Mars has an atmosphere, but its average temperature is minus 65 degrees Celsius, because its atmosphere is rather thin, and it is believed that the reason for this is the absence of Magnetic field Venus also does not have an internal magnetic field, but its interaction with the solar wind creates an external field.
The location of the planet Wolf 1069b from its star and the green zone is the habitable zone (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy - J. Nidel)
Computer simulation
The magnetic field inside the planets results from the movement of fluids in the nucleus, as the kinetic energy is transformed into magnetic energy from which the magnetic field arises, and simulations indicate that the nucleus of the planet "Wolf 1069b" is still molten like the nucleus of the planet Earth, and scientists believe that there is a movement of fluids inside The core of the planet "Wolf 1069b", which means that it can generate a magnetic field.
As for the atmosphere of the aforementioned planet, there is currently no technology to explore it and it is likely that we will wait another 10 years to explore its atmosphere.