Discovery of two exoplanets relatively close to Earth

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced on Wednesday that they had unearthed two new super-Earth exoplanets.

This means that the mass of the celestial bodies in question is between that of the Earth and that of a giant planet.

The discovery was revealed at a conference of the American Astronomical Society in California (USA), indicates

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Prime targets for the James Webb Telescope

The findings of astronomers are all the more interesting as they are located “only” 33 light years from the blue planet.

That is to say, they are relatively close.

The two exoplanets have been named HD 260655 b and HD 260655 c because they orbit a "pale star" named HD 260655.

The distance that separates the Earth from the two newly identified planets could allow them to be observed by the James Webb Space Telescope.

"The two planets in this system are each considered among the best targets for the study of their atmosphere because of the luminosity of their star," confirmed Michelle Kunimoto, co-author of the study reporting the discovery.

An impossible life development

According to the first observations, these exoplanets have a diameter of 1.2 to 1.5 times larger than the Earth with a mass two to three times greater.

However, we should not hope to discover a trace of life there.

Indeed, with their temperature fluctuating between 280 and 430°C and their proximity to their star, it is impossible for life to establish itself there.

This is also the case for the majority of the other super-earth planets.

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