Earth-sized exoplanet only 72 light-years away from Sun discovered: Why is this discovery important?

An international team of researchers searching for so-called transiting exoplanets has made another discovery. Scientists have discovered an Earth-like object just 72 light-years from the Sun.

According to Space.com, exoplanets that regularly cross the disks of their stars when viewed from Earth or near-Earth space are usually considered transiting planets. 

K2-415b is orbiting the red dwarf K2-415. Researchers discovered the exoplanet by examining data from the now-defunct Kepler Space Telescope as well as its successor, the TESS telescope. Although K2-415b is not the closest known exoplanet to Earth, it is one of Earth's closest neighbors on a cosmic scale. In addition, it has features that are sure to interest scientists.

The fact is that the star K2-415 is one of the coolest and least massive stars with their own exoplanets. A total of four lower temperature stars are known to have at least one exoplanet, including the famous TRAPPIST-1, which has at least seven.

Why is this discovery important?

Scientists study such worlds to see if planets formed around such stars in a scenario typical of the solar system or in a different way. Red dwarfs are colder and much less massive than the Sun and similar luminaries. The surface temperature of K2-415 is about 2900 degrees Celsius, compared to 5480 degrees on the Sun. The star is 0.2 times the diameter of the Sun, and its mass is only 0.16 times that of the Sun.

According to scientists, the more exoplanets are discovered, the more we can learn about their stellar systems and the better our chances of finding potentially habitable worlds. K2-415b is not in the habitable zone of its star (where liquid water can be stored, which is necessary to originate and sustain life). The planet is so close to its star that it takes only 4 Earth days to orbit it.

However, it is possible that a more promising planet may be discovered in the system for exploration in the habitable zone. Further research will determine if the planet is really the only one in the system, or if there are other specimens that are more interesting in terms of finding life.

In addition, researchers hope to continue studying K2-415b to determine its mass and internal structure. According to preliminary calculations, the planet has a mass three times that of Earth, despite the fact that its radius is only 1.015 times that of Earth.

Scientists recently found a potentially habitable planet just 31 light years from Earth. Wolf 1069 b, which orbits the red dwarf Wolf 1069, is a potentially rocky planet with a mass 1.26 times that of Earth and a size 1.08 times that of Earth. And all this data, and the planet's distance from the star around which it orbits, suggest to scientists that there might be liquid water on this planet's surface.