The Search for Another Earth-Like Planet Just Takes a Big Step Ahead

Astronomers have confirmed it for the first time the existence of a rocky planet with an atmosphere that can also be found in the area known as residential area.

It is 48 light-years away, and exoplanet—that is, a planet outside of our solar system—may be the closest thing to Earth that researchers have ever found. If it’s not twins then it’s definitely in the same family.

Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics were able to detect a signature of helium around LHS 1140 b, an exoplanet orbiting a cool red halo. A previously known body has a rock formations and it is too far away from the host star to hold liquid water on its surface. The team published their findings in a journal Science this week.

The the presence of space it is necessary for the earth to have life as we know it. On Earth, for example, the atmosphere allows water to be liquid, rather than boiling or decomposing easily. It also helps stabilize the climate by regulating the Earth’s temperature and reducing the effects of harmful atmospheric radiation.

Astronomers searching for habitable planets you often look for Goldilocks-type qualities that can be ideal for life. LHS 1140 b is the first exoplanet to provide conclusive evidence that it meets all three criteria for a rocky host in a host star that also maintains an atmosphere.

The planet was discovered in 2017, and the new discoveries are from 2024 and 2025. They provide strong evidence that the planet has gas and that this gas has existed for at least 3 billion years. The researchers first detected the signature of helium and then used physical models to recreate how the gas escapes into the atmosphere.

Although the planet is in a habitable zone, that is not evidence of life or that its environment is similar to that of Earth. In fact, based on the amount of helium escaping, researchers show that the atmosphere is very different from ours. The upper layer, from which the helium is removed, is the most common. In the lower parts, there may be heavy gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or carbon monoxide.

Most importantly, this study confirms the feasibility of the method used by the team to detect the atmosphere. Going forward, scientists will need to look at Earth with more powerful instruments to better observe the atmosphere and investigate whether it has high seas or other things related to being.

“Twenty years ago we doubted whether other Earth-like planets existed,” says Robin Wordsworth, a Harvard professor and one of the authors of the study. “Then we learned that it’s common, and we found some in the area where people can live.” The next question was whether anyone managed to keep the air fresh.

This article appeared first WIRED in Spanish and translated from Spanish.