Faced with many debates about the existence or not of life on other planets, studies and research are being carried out. In this sense, although there is no evidence of life outside Earth, there are many advances regarding the discovery of planets capable of harboring life. Therefore, the next d, exoplanet that was recently discovered, is an example of this.
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Life on other planets
The discussion about the existence of life on other planets – or not – is very common. However, to date, no planet has been found with life. On the other hand, studies already show that 3 out of 4 stars can harbor life in extreme circumstances. In addition to this, it is estimated that in the Milky Way, the galaxy where the Solar System is located, there are approximately 3 billion habitable planets.
According to the European Southern Observatory in Chile, an exoplanet with conditions to harbor life has been identified. It is a planet that is not part of the Solar System, but gravitates around another star. In this sense, it is estimated among astronomers that there are trillions of planets outside the Solar System.
New exoplanet discovered
To harbor life, the planet needs to be in the star's habitable zone, that is, where liquid water collects on the surface of a rocky planet. This exoplanet specifically was named Proxima d and is found in the habitable zone of the star Centauri. This star is smaller and cooler than the Sun, being part of the “red dwarf” category.
The exoplanet takes around five days to complete its orbit and has a quarter of Earth's mass, making it the lightest exoplanet found to date. Furthermore, it has a density of less than 0.1 g/cm³ and is located four light-years away from Centauri. Before this, there was the discovery of two other exoplanets that orbit Centauri: Proxima b and Proxima c.
