The super-Earth planet may contain life

One at 111 light years could be a large version of the Earth with conditions suitable for life.

The distant planetary planet K2-18b is described as a potential "super-Earth" , a large rock planet capable of supporting life, Independent yesterday reported. K2-18b revolves around host stars in areas that are suitable for life, meaning the planet is more likely to contain liquid water on the surface.

New research by astronomers at the University of Texas, Scarborough, and Montreal University, Canada, is conducted based on data from the Southern European Observatory (ESO). They also discovered for the first time that K2-18b has a neighbor planet K2-18c . Both planets orbiting a red dwarf K2-18 , 111 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo.

Alien planet K2-18b revolves around the host with a neighboring planet.(Photo: NASA).

"Being able to measure the volume and density of K2-18b is very good. It is very lucky and interesting to discover a new planet , " said Ryan Cloutier, head of research at Montreal University. know.

Researchers want to find out if K2-18b is a rock-like planet like Earth or onions like Neptune. They use the Radial Velocity Planet Searcher Radical Velocity (Harps) telescope in ESO to analyze K2-18b. This device specializes in measuring the vibrations of a star, thus calculating the gravity of the planet around.

They broadcast a planetary structure composed primarily of rocks with a surrounding atmosphere similar to Earth but larger. However, this may also be a planet with a thick ice cover, so further research is needed. K2-18b is closer to the star than Earth, so the temperature of this planet is higher.

The team will use NASA to explore K2-18b's atmosphere when the device is launched in 2019. "There are many requirements for using this telescope, so you have to be very careful in choosing. alien planet to consider K2-18b is one of the best targets for studying the atmosphere, the planet ranks at the top of the list, " said Professor René Doyon of Montreal University, co-author of the study. share.