British scientists discover planet near Earth, which can support life. Know in detail
British scientists have discovered a new planet near Earth that could potentially support human life, reports 'Sky News'. It is interesting to note that its temperature is around 42C which means it could be liveable. It is one of the few known planets where humans could theoretically survive.
Talking to the news outlet, Larissa Palethorpe from the University of Edinburgh said that liquid water could exist on the surface of the planet, which in this case it could. Palethorpe led a team of scientists from around the world and used NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, known as TESS. With the help of this, they spotted the planet orbiting around its star. They calculated its size, temperature and how it moves in a year.
Palethorpe told Sky News that the smaller planets are hard to find. But she and her team wanted to know more about Earth-sized planets so they could understand how many other Earths are out there. Gliese 12b is at a distance of 40 light years from the Earth and it can be called near to the Earth considering the distance in space. It is interesting to note that it will take our fastest spaceship around 300,000 years to reach there.
Gliese 12b, which is around the same size as Venus, orbits its sun every 12.8 days. The sun, called Gliese 12, is a cool red dwarf star located in the constellation Pisces.
Warwick's Professor Thomas Wilson, who was involved in the discovery, told 'Sky News' that planets like Gliese 12b are few and far
