A group of scientists discovered a planet far from Earth, covered by a thick layer of water, which they called “the ocean planet”.
The “ocean planet”, completely covered in a thick layer of water, is 100 light-years from Earth, and is similar to some of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
Scientists explained that the new planet is slightly larger and more massive than Earth, while it is likely to be habitable, due to the distance that separates it from the sun.
newspaper said “Daily MailAn international team of researchers has discovered TOI-1452 b, an exoplanet orbiting one of two small stars in a binary system located in the constellation of Draco.
This scientific discovery was made under the supervision of researcher Charles Cadio, an academic at the Canadian University of Montreal, and a member of the Exoplanet Research Institute.
She pointed out that the “TESS” space telescope of NASA helped discover the new planet outside the solar system, pointing out that the telescope undertakes a mission of extensive observation of the sky.
A signal from the TESS telescope showed a slight decrease in brightness every 11 days, allowing astronomers to predict the presence of a planet about 70 percent larger than Earth.
“I am very proud of this discovery because it shows the high level of our researchers and tools,” said René Doyon, professor at the University of Montreal and director of iREx and the Mont Megantic Observatory (OMM).
He added, “Thanks to “OMM”, a special instrument designed in our laboratories called “SPIRou”, and an innovative analytical method developed by our research team, we were able to discover this unique exoplanet.
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It took the researchers 50 hours to estimate the size of the planet, which is likely to be five times larger than Earth.
The astronomy researchers were able to prove that “TOI-1452 b” revolves around “TOI-1452”, explaining that the two stars orbit around each other, and are separated by a small distance – 97 astronomical units, or about two and a half times the distance between the Sun and Pluto – so that it can be seen by the TESS telescope. as a single point of light.
It is possible that the exoplanet “TOI-1452 b” is as rocky as our own, but its radius, mass and density point to a completely different world from ours, according to the scientists.
The scientists explained that the Earth is basically a very dry planet. Although it is sometimes referred to as the blue planet, since about 70 percent of its surface is covered by the ocean, water actually makes up only a tiny fraction of its mass, less than 1 percent.
In recent years, astronomers have determined the radius and mass of several exoplanets with a size between Earth and Neptune (about 3.8 times larger than Earth).
Some of these elements have a density that cannot be explained, unless a large part of their mass is made of materials lighter than those that make up the internal structure of the Earth such as water.