The HD 26965b super-earth belongs to another solar system, giant in size, at least 8.4 times heavier than Earth.
A group of scientists from the University of Florida (USA) have just published the research results in the monthly report of the Royal Astronomical Association of England.
HD 26965b is a super-terrestrial planet, orbiting a host star for up to 6.9 billion years, with a mass of 78% and the size of 87% of our sun.
According to author Bo Ma of the University of Florida, the HD 26965b itself is at least 8.4 times heavier than earth. In the HD 26965 solar system, in addition to HD 26965b, there is also a white dwarf and an M4 dwarf orbiting the host star.
This super earth was discovered because its host star is one of the brightest metallic stars in the night sky. Scientists search for a planet orbiting that star based on the star’s small vibrations – vibrations that will occur when a planet orbiting around it and exerting gravity on it.
From the first data collected on the star, scientists discovered signals that it is acted by a large planet, a super earth.
Early stages of research show that a year on super-earth lasts only 42.4 days and most likely has an atmosphere. Scientists suspect it has a world similar to Kepler-10c, a super earth with lots of ice and possibly water in the form of ice discovered in 2011.
However, Kepler-10c is 568 light years from Earth. With a distance of only 16 light years, the new HD 26965 super-earth will be much easier for the next steps of research.
