Scientists Announce the Discovery of an Earth-Like Exoplanet

Daled IV, a tidally locked planet from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION’s “The Dauphin.” Image: Paramount.

FEBRUARY 7, 2023 – “Space, the final frontier.”  More than 70% of the planet’s population knows where this short phrase comes from, and of those 70% could repeat the rest of it verbatim.

We love Star Trek for the adventure and the hope for a brighter future, but mostly for the ‘Strange New Worlds’ that they explore.  And as was shared on February 3, 2023, a team of 50 astronomers from around the world confirmed the discovery of a new exoplanet, which they have named Wolf 1069 b.  (Though I’m rather disappointed that it wasn’t named Wolf 359) 

Although astronomers have discovered more than 5,200 exoplanets, less than 200 are rocky — so the discovery of a new terrestrial exoplanet is always exciting. 

Wolf 1069 b, orbits a red dwarf star and is only 31 light-years from Earth. What makes this discovery especially exciting is that Wolf 1069 b is potentially a rocky world, at about 1.26 the mass of Earth and 1.08 the size. It also orbits in its star's habitable zone, making it a prime candidate for liquid water to potentially exist on its surface. 

Diana Kossakowski, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany and lead author on the new research stated: "When we analyzed the data of the star Wolf 1069, we discovered a clear, low-amplitude signal of what appears to be a planet of roughly Earth mass. It orbits the star within 15.6 days at a distance equivalent to one-15th of the separation between the Earth and the sun." 

For context, the planet Mercury, which is the closest planet to our sun, has an orbital period of 88 days. As a result, its surface temperatures reach as high as 800 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius). 

Unlike Mercury, Wolf 1069 b lies within its star habitable zone despite its much shorter orbital period of 15.6 days. This is because its star is a red dwarf star, meaning it's much smaller than our sun and Wolf 1069 b receives approximately 65% of the solar radiance that Earth receives. This improves its prospects for habitability, with relatively desirable surface temperatures that range between minus 139.27 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 95.15 degrees Celsius) and 55.13 F (12.85 C), with an average of minus 40.25 F (minus 40.14 C).  So, you’ll definitely need to be indoors with the heater on if you live on the planet’s dark side.   

Another unique feature of Wolf 1069 b is that it is tidally locked to its parent star, meaning one side is always in daylight and the opposite side is always in darkness. (This attribute is shared by the moon in its orbit around Earth, as well as with most habitable exoplanets orbiting red dwarf stars.) Though tidal locking means the planet doesn't have a day/night cycle like Earth, the researchers hope that its dayside could still boast habitable conditions.  And so, learning the day side is always dayside, make sure to pull the blinds when you go to bed.

Given its relatively short distance from Earth (At least to an astronomer) of 31 light-years, Wolf 1069 b is now the sixth closest Earth-mass habitable zone exoplanet. This puts Wolf 1069 b in a small group of exoplanets that are potential targets in the search for biosignatures, or chemical fingerprints of life. 

Live long and prosper, Wolf 1069 b.  Who knows, if Elon and Sir Richard press on, this current generation may set foot on it in their lifetime. 

To read even more about this discovery, warp over to Space.com and read the whole story.