Two super-Earths that could potentially harbor life discovered

Scientists have discovered two potentially habitable super-Earths orbiting a Sun-like star 12 light years away.

The star Tau Ceti and its planets compared to the Solar System. Photo: Fabo Feng.

Scientists at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, discovered four planets orbiting Tau Ceti, the closest Sun-like star to Earth, 12 light years away, according to Sky News. Among these new planets are two "super-Earths" located in the habitable zone around the star, not too hot or too cold. Therefore, liquid water could exist on their surfaces. The research results were published on the online library of Cornell University, US, on August 7.

The team made their discovery thanks to the wobble effect of the star Tau Ceti due to its gravitational interaction with the planets orbiting it. "Our discovery of the star's slight wobble is a milestone in the search for Earth-like planets," said Fabo Feng, lead author of the study.

Tau Ceti is similar in size and brightness to the Sun and has many planets orbiting it. Scientists hope that direct imaging of the outer two super-Earths will show that they are rocky and habitable.

But the team acknowledges that a large disk of debris orbiting the star could bombard the planets with comets and asteroids, reducing their habitability.

"We are slowly learning to distinguish between wobbles caused by planets and those caused by surface activity. This allowed us to confirm the existence of two outer, potentially habitable planets in the Tau Ceti system," said Mikko Tuomi, a member of the research team.

According to VNE