Imagine a world with two suns setting below the horizon or another raining glass in furious winds sideways. These are not scenes from some sort of science fiction movie but authentic locations which astronauts have managed to find beyond our solar system. With thousands of identified exoplanets, each new world presents just how diverse and mysterious our universe is.
Let’s look at some of the most exciting exoplanet scientists have discovered recently and what they do tell us about the universe.
Super-Earth with a Possible Sibling
One of the recent thrilling discoveries in this regard has been TOI-715 b a “super-Earth” sitting some 137 light-years away. It’s larger than our own planet, and it orbits within the habitable zone of its star—the temperature might just be right for liquid water, one of the essential ingredients for life. But what really makes wide eyes is that astronomers believe there could be an Earth-sized little brother or sister orbiting around this star. This is a sibling that scientists are very inquisitive about learning more regarding, and the possibilities it holds now that it has been discovered. A Cooler, Less-Horrifying Venus-like Planet
There’s Gliese 12 b, another popular discovery. It is about the size of Venus, yet much cooler with an average surface temperature of approximately 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike our scorching hot Venus and with its oppressive atmosphere, Gliese 12 b delivers conditions at least much less hostile. Such discoveries helped scientists understand the stretch of settings existing in rocky planets.
Half-swimming two-headed world in lava
Then there’s HD 63433 d, a planet a bit bigger than Earth in size, but its star is sterling similar to our sun. On the other hand, this exoplanet has an orbit of just four Earth days; what’s more, one side is covered in molten lava because of how close it orbits to the star. It is the smallest and closest “young” exoplanet known so far, sitting only 73 light-years away.
Scorching Rocky Exoplanet with Some Atmosphere?
Researchers have been on the lookout for an Earth-like planet, and they just found a super-Earth, 55 Cancri e. To make matters interesting, it had such an atmosphere, 41 light-years away, that could redistribute energy and avoid getting scorching, as it was supposed to; hence, providing evidence for many rocky planets with atmospheres yet to be discovered beyond our solar system.
It’s hard, when talking about such strange new worlds, not to bring up some of the older and equally mind-blowing discoveries: Kepler-16b, where you’d see two suns set every evening, or Kepler-452 b—often called Earth’s older cousin—which orbits in a habitable zone around a very sun-like star.
One sterling example is OT44, a rogue planet that floats freely through the galaxy, unbound to any star, in a dark, cold existence. These nomadic worlds will be the focus of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, launching in 2025.
The Astounding World of Bennu
The exploration doesn’t stop at exoplanets alone.
Recently, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx returned with samples from the asteroid Bennu. Carbonates and organic molecules—building blocks in the worlds of life—enrich these samples. We’re seeing lots of serpentine and saponite clay minerals, along with carbonates,” says Dr. Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for the mission. “About 4.7% of the sample is carbon, with 90% in organic molecules. This material is like a time capsule from the early solar system.” Already, scientists are comparing Bennu’s minerals with those at hydrothermal vents on Earth’s mid-ocean ridges and in the plumes of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, suggesting that building blocks for life must have pervasively existed in the solar system, and possibly led to life on other planets or moons. It is through satisfying this curiosity that we get to understand what conditions are necessary to support life. Hence, with every new discovery of just one more world, it takes us a step further in understanding man’s place within the universe.
So, keep your eyes on the stars. Maybe the next great discovery is around the corner, and with powerful telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, many more of the myriad worlds beyond our own will come into our knowledge.
As far more eloquently stated by Dante Lauretta, “When you unite on a common vision, there is nothing that is impossible. We can do amazing things when we join together, when we unify, and when we work towards a common goal.”
The universe holds a lot of surprises for us, and we take one step further with every new discovery in this cosmic journey.
