Astronomers Discover an Earth-Sized Planet Within Its Star's Habitable Zone
Planets located outside the solar system are called exoplanets. The Earth-like planet, dubbed TOI 700 e, is the fourth exoplanet to be discovered orbiting the small, cool dwarf star TOI 700.
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) telescope has discovered another potentially habitable Earth-like planet in the TOI 700 star system orbiting a star 100 light-years from the Sun. The planet has been designated TOI 700 e.
The TOI 700 star system also includes the planet TOI 700 d, which was discovered in 2020. Both planets are in the star's habitable zone, meaning that liquid water could exist on their surfaces under the right conditions.
Planet TOI 700 d is about the size of Earth and makes a complete revolution around its star every 37 Earth days. The newly discovered TOI 700 e is about 95% the size of Earth and is a rocky celestial body. Its period of orbit around its star is 28 Earth days.
It is the fourth exoplanet to orbit the cool red dwarf TOI 700 (the other three are TOI 700 b, c, and d). All the planets were discovered using the TESS telescope.