Discovery of Two New Super-Earths Orbiting Nearby Stars

Strategic Insights -

A team of astronomers led by Mourad Ghachoui of the University of Lige in Belgium has used NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to detect two new super-Earth exoplanets, TOI-6002 b and TOI-5713 b, orbiting nearby M-dwarf stars. The newly discovered exoplanets are two times larger than Earth, with a radius of 1.65 Earth radii and an estimated mass of nearly four times more massive than Earth for TOI-6002 b. The exoplanets have an orbital period of approximately 10.9 days and 10.44 days for TOI-6002 b and TOI-5713 b respectively.

Key Takeaways:

  • The researchers used TESS observations from four sectors, ground-based photometry, high-angular resolution imaging, and spectroscopic observations to validate the planetary nature of the detected transit events.
  • TOI-6002 b and TOI-5713 b are super-Earth exoplanets with a radius of 1.65 Earth radii and 77% larger than Earth respectively, and are estimated to be nearly four times more massive than Earth.
  • The planets orbit their host stars every 10.9 days and 10.44 days, with a distance of 0.06 AU.
  • The equilibrium temperature of TOI-6002 b is calculated to be 321.1 K, while that of TOI-5713 b is at a level of 347.2 K.
  • The researchers classified the two newfound alien worlds as super-Earths, with the composition of the planets still uncertain as they could be either rocky or water-rich worlds.
  • Both TOI-6002 b and TOI-5713 b are located just outside but near the inner edge of the habitable zone around their host stars, making them interesting targets for future studies.
  • The discovery was reported in a paper published on the pre-print server arXiv on August 1, 2024.

Statistics:

  • Over 7,200 candidate exoplanets (TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI) have been identified by TESS so far, with 543 confirmed exoplanets.
  • The study used 2-min-cadence TESS observations from four sectors for each target.
  • TOI-6002 b has an equilibrium temperature of 321.1 K.
  • TOI-5713 b has an equilibrium temperature of 347.2 K.

Sources:

  • Ghachoui, M., et al. (2024). TESS discovery of two super-Earths orbiting the M-dwarf stars TOI-6002 and TOI-5713 near the radius valley. arXiv: 2408.00709.
  • Astronomers discover two new super-Earths orbiting nearby stars. (2024, August 8). Phys.org.