New planet: scientists discover Gliese 12 b, potentially habitable Earth-sized planet in Gliese 12 system

Scientists from the University of Warwick have helped contribute to the discovery of a potentially habitable Earth-sized planet, located just 40 light-years away.

The planet, named Gliese 12 b, has an estimated surface temperature of about 42 degrees Celsius, and is one of the few rocky planets known where human survival might be possible, though scientists are still uncertain about the planet's atmosphere.

Gliese 12 b completes an orbit around its star every 12.8 days and is similar in size to Earth. The discovery was made by an international team, including researchers from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

They used NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and ESA’s CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) to identify and study the planet.

The planet's star, known as Gliese 12, is a cool red dwarf located in the constellation Pisces. This star is about 27% the size of our Sun and has about 60% of the Sun’s surface temperature.

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Dr. Thomas Wilson, an astrophysicist at the University of Warwick, played a key role in the discovery. He used data from NASA and ESA satellites to confirm the planet's existence and determine its size, temperature, and distance from Earth.

He said: “This is a really exciting discovery and will help our research into planets similar to Earth across our Galaxy. Thrillingly, this planet is the closest Earth-sized and temperature planet we know.

“The light we are seeing now is from 1984 (40 years ago) – that’s how long it has taken to reach us here on Earth.

“Planets like Gliese 12 b are very few and far between, so for us to be able to examine one this closely and learn about its atmosphere and temperature is very rare.”

Larissa Palethorpe, co-lead of the study and doctoral student at the University of Edinburgh and University College London, added: “This is a unique candidate for further atmospheric study that may help unlock some aspects of our own solar system’s evolution.

“Earth remains habitable, but Venus does not due to its complete loss of water. Gliese 12 b’s atmosphere could teach us a lot about the habitability pathways planets take as they develop.”

Gliese 12 b is just 7% of the distance between Earth and the Sun from its star, receiving 1.6 times more energy from its star than Earth does from the Sun.

One crucial factor in maintaining an atmosphere is the activity level of the star. Red dwarfs are often magnetically active and prone to expelling intense X-ray flares, though scientists have found that Gliese 12 shows no signs of such extreme behaviour.