Speculoos-3b: A New Earth-Sized Exoplanet Discovered

International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

Speculoos-3b: A New Earth-Sized Exoplanet Discovered

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Salient Features Of World'S Physical Geography

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Red Dwarf Star, Speculoos-3b

Mains level: NA

Why in the News?

Astronomers have identified a new Earth-sized exoplanet, named Speculoos-3b, orbiting an ultracool red dwarf star.

Back2Basics: Red Dwarf Star

A red dwarf is the most common type of star in the Milky Way galaxy.
However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs cannot be easily observed.
Proxima Centauri, the star nearest to the Sun, is a red dwarf, as are fifty of the sixty nearest stars.
According to some estimates, red dwarfs make up three-quarters of the fusing stars in the Milky Way.

About Speculoos-3b

Speculoos-3b is an Earth-sized exoplanet recently discovered orbiting an ultracool dwarf star.
It was discovered by a team of astronomers led by Michael Gillon from the University of Liege in Belgium.
It is located approximately 55 light-years away from Earth.
Due to its short orbital period, Speculoos-3b receives almost ten times more energy per second than Earth does from the Sun.

SPECULOOS Project

Project Overview: The discovery was made under the SPECULOOS project, aimed at exploring exoplanets around ultra-cool dwarf stars.
The SPECULOOS Southern Observatory is a project carried out by the University of Liège (Belgium) and the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge (United Kingdom)

Astrophysical Significance of the Discovery

Prevalence of Ultracool Dwarfs: Ultracool dwarf stars, like the host of Speculoos-3b, constitute about 70% of all stars in our galaxy and are known for their longevity, surviving up to 100 billion years.
Importance for Life’s Potential: The extended lifespan of these stars provides a stable environment that could potentially support the development of life on orbiting planets.

PYQ:

[2015] The term ‘Goldilocks Zone’ is often seen in the news in the context of:

(a) the limits of habitable zone above the surface of the Earth

(b) regions inside the Earth where shale gas is available

(c) search for the Earth-like planets in outer space

(d) search for meteorites containing precious metals

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