Astronomers have discovered a new potentially habitable world, GJ 251 clocated in the Gemini constellationapproximately 18 light years from Earth. It’s one super-Earththat is, a rocky planet larger than ours, with a mass equal to approximately four times that of the Earth.
GJ 251 c orbits a small red dwarfthe star Gliese 251completing one full revolution each approximately 53 days. This distance from its star places it in the habitable areathe region in which the temperature could allow the presence of liquid water on the surface – a fundamental condition for life as we know it.
A discovery that brings the search for Earth-like planets closer
The news, announced by a international team of astronomersrepresents an important step in the study of extrasolar planets. His proximity to Earth makes GJ 251 c an ideal target for more detailed future observations, even with new generation telescopes, which may be able to study it the atmosphere and chemical composition.
The tools that allowed this discovery – like the Habitable-Zone Planet Finder spectrograph and it NEID tool – they detected the planet by analyzing the variations in the star’s lightdue to the gravitational attraction of the orbiting body. Precision work that made it possible to distinguish the planet’s signal from the “noise” due to the activity of the star itself.
Promising, but not yet “habitable”
Despite the encouraging premises, . The star Gliese 251 is in fact one red dwarfa type of star known for its strong radiation emissions and the stellar storms which, over time, could damage or disperse the atmosphere of a nearby planet.
Furthermore, current measurements are based only on minimum mass: we don’t yet know the radiusthe density or the real one atmospheric composition of GJ 251 c. Without this data, it is impossible to determine whether it can truly maintain liquid water on the surface or whether, instead, it is a barren and inhospitable world.
Precisely because it is located at a relatively short distance, GJ 251 c will be one of the main targets of future ground and space telescopeslike those from 30 meters currently under construction. Future research will try to identify any gases in the atmosphere – such as oxygen, methane or water vapor – which could be indications of biological activity.
We will understand even better as much as red dwarfs are actually capable of hosting habitable planets, a central theme in contemporary astrobiology: these are in fact the most common stars in our galaxy.
The discovery of GJ 251 c reminds us of how much the universe is full of possibilities. We still don’t know if this planet could host life, but its discovery shows that potentially Earth-like worlds could exist much closer than we imagine. Each new observation brings us closer to understanding whether we are truly alone in the cosmos or whether, somewhere, another blue planet is orbiting its star.
