This planet twice the size of Earth has just been discovered and has an important characteristic

A massive exoplanet has been discovered. UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION – Tyler Van Der Hoeven

On January 13, 2024, the Haute-Provence Observatory revealed its discovery of a planet twice the size of Earth. The center will continue its studies in order to learn the secrets of this little-known star.

HD88986b was discovered by an observatory in the south of France, news that delights its scientists who are enthusiastic about learning more about the star, reports Provence.

A "super-Earth" or "sub-Neptune"

HD88986b is an exoplanet. "Exoplanets are planets that do not revolve around the Sun, they revolve around another star. We also talk about extrasolar planets", note Futura Science.

"This type of object, unknown 15 years ago, is very present, and it is even possible that all stars have them, except the Sun!&quot ;, explains Guillaume Hébrard. Experienced in the subject, he is a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of Paris (IAP) and at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP/CNRS) but also co-author of the study led by Neda Heidari (IAP), the same one which revealed the existence of HD88986b. 

HD88986b is a "super-Earth" or “sub-Neptune”, which orbits a star in our galaxy. This exoplanet was spotted using Sophie + technology of a spectrograph installed on a telescope 1 meter 93 long.&nbsp ;

Interesting characteristics for the observatory

It took 25 years for the observatory and its teams to identify and confirm the existence of the star twice the size of the blue planet.& nbsp;HD88986b is interesting in many ways, not least the fact that it is (relatively) cold. 

With 190° On average, the atmosphere of HD88986b says a lot about its origins and evolution. Furthermore, the star is approximately 17 times more massive than Earth and orbits its star in just 146 days, note the researchers. 

In addition, the transitions that the star regularly makes will allow researchers to learn more about its movements as well as its environment.

The first exoplanet was discovered at the Haute-Provence Observatory in 1995. In 2005, 155 had been identified, details Futura Science.