Earth-Like Planet Found Orbiting Distant Star, But There’s A Major Catch

Astronomers have discovered an Earth-like exoplanet using microlensing.

Scientists have made a new finding that provides a fascinating insight into the future of our solar system. A new exoplanet, about 1.9 times the mass of Earth, has been discovered around a white dwarf star, according to ScienceAlert. This extraordinary discovery throws light on the possible fate of our own planet as the Sun finally turns into a white dwarf.

Despite the planet’s hostile conditions caused by the star’s destructive red giant phase, the discovery provides insights into planetary evolution. White dwarfs, which are leftovers of stars such as the Sun, arise following the red giant period. This study, led by Keming Zhang of the University of California, focusses on how planets might survive this chaotic period, expanding our understanding of planetary survival and evolution.

“The simplest explanation is that the planet survived through the red giant host star,” Zhang told ScienceAlert.

“The white dwarf lens was nearly perfectly aligned with the background source star during the event, causing it to be magnified by over 1,000 times,” Zhang explained.

“For these rare ultra-high magnification microlensing events, a companion as small as a terrestrial planet could significantly affect the magnification pattern, enabling us to accurately infer the lens configuration across a wide range of masses and orbital separations.”

This allowed the researchers to not just determine the mass and orbital separation of the Earth-like, or terrestrial, exoplanet, but the presence of a brown dwarf orbiting the white dwarf, too, an object about 30 times the mass of Jupiter.