TESS discovers potentially habitable exoplanet

The planet spotted through a telescope bears a striking resemblance to the Earth and is located just 31 light years (approximately 310 trillion km) away from us. By space standards, that’s really close.

The object was discovered orbiting GJ 357, a star in Hydra constellation. The planet itself was given the name GJ 357 d.

The space object is located much closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun, but GJ 357 is much colder than the Sun. Scientists believe that the average temperature on the planet is near -50 degrees Celsius. In theory, these conditions might even be appropriate for life on the planet.

The exact dimensions of the planet are still unknown, but according to preliminary estimations, it is twice the size of the Earth. The object is 6 times heavier than our planet, making it a super-Earth. Scientists are currently searching for proof of an atmosphere on GJ 357 d.

The telescope also identified two other exoplanets, GJ 357 b and GJ 357 с, but the offer much less favorable conditions, which makes them less likely to be habitable.