LHS 1140 b
Super-Earth orbiting LHS 1140
LHS 1140 b
LHS 1140 b is an exoplanet orbiting within the conservative habitable zone of the red dwarf star LHS 1140. Discovered in 2017 by the MEarth Project, LHS 1140 b is about 5.6 times the mass of Earth and about 70% larger in radius, putting it within the super-Earth category of planets. It was initially thought to be a dense rocky planet, but refined measurements of its mass and radius have found a lower density than previously estimated, indicating that it is likely an ocean planet with 9-19% of its mass composed of water. LHS 1140 b orbits entirely within the star's habitable zone and gets 43% the incident flux of Earth. The planet is 49 light-years (15 parsecs) away and transits its star, making it an excellent candidate for atmospheric studies with ground-based and/or space telescopes. Near-infrared ground-based spectroscopic observations have suggested the presence of an atmosphere containing helium. If this is true, this would be the first detection of atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet...
Read on Wikipedia · Image ESO/spaceengine.org, CC BY 4.0
Open boosters, collect cards and trade them. Free to play.
Play for free