Two planets, including ‘Super Earth,’ discovered 120 light-years away

Scientists have discovered two planets orbiting a red dwarf, including a “Super-Earth,” just 120 light-years from Earth.

The research, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, notes that exoplanets TOI-1266 b and TOI-1266 c take just 11 and 19 days to orbit their star. Red stars, which are significantly smaller than the sun, are also cooler and could allow for liquid water to exist on their orbiting planets, researchers note.

“Planets between about the radius of TOI-1266 b and c are quite rare, likely because of the effect of strong irradiation from the star, which can erode their atmospheres,” the study’s lead author, Brice-Olivier Demory, said in a statement.

TOI-1266 b is considered a “sub-Neptune” due to it being two and a half times the size of Earth’s diameter and TOI-1266 c is one-and-a-half times the size of Earth, putting it in the “Super-Earth” category.

Both TOI-1266 b and c have similar temperatures and though they are vastly different in size, are believed to have similar density, likely comprised of rocky and metallic components. They may also contain water, the researchers suggested.

Study co-author Yilen Gómez Maqueo Chew added that studying “these two different types of planets in the same system is a great opportunity to better understand how these different sized planets come to be.”

The researchers used the Mexico-based SAINT-EX telescope to make their discovery.

In August 2019, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite discovered a super-Earth exoplanet located 31 light-years from Earth that may be “habitable.”

Earlier this month, researchers identified 24 potentially “superhabitable” planets that may have conditions more suited to host life than Earth.

exoplanets have been discovered by NASA in total, approximately 50 of which were believed to potentially be habitable as of September 2018. They have the right size and the right orbit of their star to support surface water and, at least theoretically, to support life.