Smallest planet discovered outside the solar system
On February 20, astronomers at the Ames Research Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that they had discovered the smallest planet ever outside the solar system.
Astronomers discovered the new planet while observing the star Kepler-37, named after the Kepler telescope installed in 2009 to observe the Milky Way, so they named the new planet Kepler-37b.
Planet Kepler-37b. (Source: NASA)
The new planet is smaller than Mercury, and is located in the innermost part of its star system, along with two slightly larger "sister" planets, Kepler-37c and Kepler-37d. All three planets orbit a yellow star similar to the Sun, located 210 light years from Earth.
According to astronomers, because Kepler-37b's orbit around its "mother" star is 10 times closer than Earth's orbit around the Sun, the surface temperature of Kepler-37b is about 427 degrees Celsius and the planet's surface may be entirely rocky, without air or water, making it difficult for life to exist.
To date, scientists have discovered 833 confirmed planets outside the solar system, of which 114 were discovered by the Kepler telescope team. In addition, there are nearly 3,000 other planets being analyzed for confirmation./.
According to (TTXVN) - VT
