Hubble confirms an exoplanet very close to Earth
The Hubble telescope is still functional and very useful to science. His work may be obscured by the new James Webb space telescope due to the latter's overpowering. But it is thanks to Hubble that researchers have confirmed the existence of a rocky planet the size of Earth. In fact, the transit method had made it possible to discover its presence, but scientists were unaware of its radius.
A warm Earth
The exoplanet LTT 1445Ac is located just 22 light years from our Sun. On a cosmic scale, it’s next door. For humans, it is still very far since the journey to get there would last 22 years if it were possible to travel at the speed of light. In addition, this exoplanet is likely to resemble Venus more with a surface temperature of more than 260°C.
Recent discovery
According to data collected by NASA scientists, the mass of this exoplanet is 1.54 times that of Earth. However, its size is barely larger. Its orbital transit takes place in just 3.1 Earth days: it is therefore very close to its star, a red dwarf forming part of a system of three stars.
Source: Cornell University