Astronomers Confirm Rocky Super-Earth Orbiting Red Dwarf 25 Light-Years Away

Astronomers at the University of California, Irvine identified an exoplanet designated GJ 3378b orbiting a star 25 light-years from Earth; the planet is more than twice Earth’s size and orbits a cooler red dwarf. Paul Robertson, UC Irvine associate professor of astronomy and lead author of the study, stated that the planet is one of the closest cosmic neighbors.

He noted that 25 light-years is modest compared with the Milky Way's 100,000-light-year diameter. The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal.

It orbits a red dwarf star that is considerably dimmer and cooler than the Sun, completing one orbit in 21.5 days. Robertson added that the planet receives about 90 percent of the radiation Earth gets from the Sun. The discovery was made using the Habitable-zone Planet Finder on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Texas and the NEID Spectrometer on the WIYN Telescope in Arizona.

Robertson said researchers cannot yet confirm whether GJ 3378b possesses an atmosphere. Earth remains the only planet where life has been confirmed, although astronomers have discovered more than 6,000 exoplanets. Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, stated that signs of life are written in a planet's light if researchers know how to read it.