![]() ![]() There are no signs that the solar system is home to any more planets that have yet to be discovered, but Rodriguez didn’t rule out the possibility as researchers continue to study the TOI-700 system. Rodriguez compared the two newly discovered planets to Earth and Venus - TOI-700d sits in a similar proximity to its star as Earth does to the sun, and TOI-700e sits similar to where Venus is on the edge of the habitable zone. Researchers also suspect that TOI-700d could be capable of sustaining life because it too orbits within the star’s habitable zone. “We need to look for the evidence that there’s the right biology on the planet (to conclude that it could sustain life),” Rodriguez said. Even if a biological signature is identified in the planet’s atmosphere, which is very difficult to determine, some chemical signatures could be explained by non-biological sources, according to the press release. ![]() It’s an issue Rodriguez expects will be debated for decades. One way scientists can confirm their suspicions that the planet can indeed sustain life is by studying the planet’s atmosphere, pressure and looking for biological signatures, like oxygen or other molecules that could confirm that conditions exist on the planet that would allow for life. Liquid water is a crucial ingredient needed to sustain life on a planet, he said, and TOI-700e sits at a distance in proximity to the solar system’s star to where the liquid water could be possible. It’s at a distance where the energy of the star … that it should be at the temperature for liquid water to exist.” We know how far away from the star it is. “We don’t know a ton about the planet,” Rodriguez said on Friday. Because of TOI-700e's location within the star’s habitable zone, Rodriguez and his team believe the newly discovered planet could be capable of supporting life. But there was some indication that there could be a fourth planet, Rodriguez said.Īfter another year of observation and studying the TOI-700 star, researchers were able to confirm TOI-700e, the solar system’s fourth-known planet. In 2020, Rodriguez and his team first confirmed the existence of the TOI-700 solar system and at the time confirmed the existence of three planets - TOI-700b, TOI-700c, and TOI-700d. The team announced the discovery Tuesday at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle. The newly confirmed planet, TOI-700e, is the third discovered in the TOI-700 solar system by Joey Rodriguez, an assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, and a team of researchers working with NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, a space-based telescope that observes millions of stars and looks for planets passing in front of the stars. EAST LANSING - After more than a year of extra-stellar detective work, a Michigan State University professor has helped NASA confirm the existence of a new planet about 100 light years away that could be capable of supporting life. ![]()
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