83
Researchers discover Earth-like planet with atmosphere 48 light-years away
(www.newschannel5.com)
I'm going. Bye everyone. I'll miss you
this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2026
83 points (98.8% liked)
science
28068 readers
539 users here now
A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.
dart board;; science bs
rule #1: be kind
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
That is freaking awesome!
amaze amaze amaze
Very cool discovery. But just to temper any overly excited reactions...
Whether the atmosphere could support life remains unknown.
Also LHS 1140 b is tidally locked to its red dwarf Star, which means one side of it is constantly facing the star and the other side is always saving away from the star. So the ~~fat~~ far side will be very, very cold. While the doesn't rule out the possibilities of life or a breathable atmosphere, it does complicate all that.
Reminds me of an excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut's The Sirens Of Titan: https://www.flickr.com/photos/romasita/2766136797
True, but up till now we didn't even know if a tidally locked planet around a red dwarf could even hold an atmosphere (since red dwarfs tend to have much more powerful x-ray flares, and planets sit much closer to them than our G-type sun). So the fact that this one does have lightweight Helium in the atmosphere would seem to significantly increase the odds that there's life elsewhere, since red dwarfs are super common and if there's 1 that can hold an atmosphere, odds are that there are many, many others.
So the fat side will be very, very cold
Well, that's why it has all that blubber! To keep it warm.
Damnit autocorrect!
But your reply genuinely made me chuckle.
But a habitable ring around the twilight portion sounds very cool and world build-y.
Aren't there issues with constant and unsurvivable wind as atmosphere is heated on the sunward side and cold atmo from the leeward rushes in underneath?
It'd be an interesting environment. What if the atmosphere was thin so the winds were fast, but not strong? Lots of variables to consider, and I'm sure if life could start, it'd find a niche to live in.
It's not unsurvivable if the organisms there have evolved to survive it.
Shouldn't the atmosphere be, you know, around the planet. And not 48 light-years away.
Alt: "How the atmosphere got 48 ly from the planet I'll never know." - Groucho
ExxonMobil announced plans to destroy the planet a few minutes later
Researchers are not yet able to determine what the atmosphere is made of.
Cherubim and his team determined that helium is escaping from the exoplanet’s upper atmosphere.
So don't hold your breath waiting to find out if there's any sign of life.
but do hold your breath if you somehow end up there
But is i anything like Earth? That's what I want to know.