Exoplanets like Earth? Moderate your transportation…

trap 3: “Earth-like planet” does not mean… Earth-like planet!

When the hunt for exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system, got their hands on their first prey nearly 30 years ago, those planets were gigantic. And even quite gigantic: many of them were ten times the size of Jupiter – which alone could contain more than a thousand terrestrial planets.

term “Earth-like planet” (Earth-like planet) was more of a distant aspiration than a true definition. This represents the hope that technology will one day make it possible to discover “rocky” planets (such as Venus, Earth and Mars).

Now that astronomers are well and truly out there, attention is turning to the clues that distinguish Earth from its rocky fellows: the atmosphere, and especially the water.

outer planets — The TRAPPIST system’s sun is seen from one of its nearest planets: a fanciful sight that NASA wants to confirm over the next few years.

Two new rocky exoplanets

called the planet TOI-700 c It is 102 light years away. In 2020, three more planets have already been discovered orbiting the star TOI-700. The farthest, which is barely 1.1 times Earth’s, is also in the habitable zone.

called the planet LHS-475B It is 41 light years away. Almost (99%) the diameter of the Earth.