The host star is just 11 light years from Earth — making us practically neighbors.
Scientists may be one step closer to figuring out if we're alone in the universe. Astronomers recently discovered several nearby exoplanets that they say could"potentially host life," orbiting the brightest red dwarf star in the sky.
The team monitored the system using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher spectrograph at the European Southern Observatory in Chile and analyzed nearly two decades of archival data on the star. Using a technique called the"Doppler wobble," the astronomers found the planets to have orbits of just 9.3 and 21.8 days — faster even than Mercury.
The planets are located near their star's habitable zone — an area where liquid water could exist. However, scientists said the temperature of the later planet is about 70 degrees Celsius, or 158 degrees Fahrenheit.Unlike other red dwarfs, this star has very few starspots and is much less active — meaning the newly-discovered planets have a better chance of retaining their atmosphere, making conditions for life more plausible.
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