Planetary system with peaceful Red Dwarf raises hope of finding habitable planet

A newly discovered system with two (possibly three) planets has intrigued scientists for its favourable conditions that could make life outside of our solar system possible. According to reports, two terrestrial exoplanets were discovered in the orbit of Lacaille 9352, or GJ 887, and have checked a number of boxes when it comes to finding a potentially habitable planet.

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Peaceful Red Dwarf gives hope

According to reports, the new star system is relatively close to Earth -- only 10.7 lightyears away and its close proximity could lead it to become the most studied planetary system in the vicinity.

The star at the heart of this system is reported to be a red dwarf and is half the size of our sun. A red dwarf is a relatively cooler star. These types of stars live much longer than our sun and are the most common type of stars found in the Milky Way.

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As per reports, the two exoplanets that give researchers hope seem to be terrestrial in nature, similar to Earth and Mars. In addition, there is also a hint of a third planet in the system that is believed to be in the right distance wherein the temperature is not too cold or too hot so as to allow liquid water to form. However, the hint of the existence of the third planet is still inconclusive.

According to reports, since red dwarf stars are much cooler than other stars in their habitable zone and much closer than what it is for the Earth in regards to the sun. This is where the problem occurs, most red dwarf stars are highly volatile and emit a lot of steller radiation that would make any nearby planet inhospitable.

However, GJ 887 seems to be different. As far as red dwarfs are concerned, the star is incredibly peaceful and has very low sunspot activity. The brightness emitted by the star also appears to be quite uniform. These factors have made it quite popular with researchers studying possibilities of life outside the earth.

(Representative Image - Pixabay)

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