Astronomers have recently discovered exoplanet Ross 128 b, which is the second-closest found to our solar system, only 11 light years away and it could support life.
They found the exoplanet and its host star Ross 128 using the European Southern Observatory's planet-hunting instrument, called High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) based at La Silla Observatory in Chile.
CNN reports that the exoplanet is about the same size as Earth, and it may have a similar surface temperature, making it a temperate world that could support life. It said that the exoplanet revolves around its host star, Ross 128 in every 9.9 days.
The astronomers have detailed their discovery in a new study published Wednesday in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
They have not yet concluded whether Ross 128 b is in the habitable zone of its star, but it's likely, given what they understand about red dwarfs and the planets that orbit them.
Ross 128 b is 20 times closer to its star than Earth is to the sun, but because the star is small, dim and cool, the planet would still be at a potentially comfortable temperature. The nature of the star is also why the planet is subjected to only 1.38 times the radiation that Earth receives from the sun, even though the planet and star are close together.
But the reason astronomers are excited about Ross 128 b is because the star is "quiet." Other red dwarfs, like Proxima Centauri -- the star that Proxima b orbits -- have a tendency to lash out at their planets with deadly flares of ultraviolet and X-ray radiation.
Astronomers estimate that in 79,000 years, Ross 128 b will be our exoplanet neighbor, even closer than Proxima b. That may sound like a long time, but in a universe that is billions of years old, it's merely a cosmic moment.
The astronomers believe that Ross 128 b is a good candidate for further study when the European Southern Observatory's Extremely Large Telescope can begin searching the atmospheres of exoplanets for biomarkers in 2025.
