A team of international researchers have confirmed the discovery of a super-Earth, which is orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby star, similar to the sun.

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The planet was originally identified two years earlier by Oxford University scientist Dr Michael Cretignier. The new findings have opened up opportunities for future studies of Earth-like exoplanets that may have conditions suitable for life.

The new planet HD 20794 d has a mass of six times bigger than Earth and is located 20 light years away. It orbits its sun-like star at the right distance that can sustain liquid water on its surface, which is a key aspect for life to happen. The study was published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

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Dr Cretignier first identified the signal from the exoplanet in 2022 while analysing archived data recorded by the HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher) spectrograph, which analyses the light absorbed and emitted by objects, at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Using the data he spotted unique, periodic shifts in the light spectrum emitted by the host star, which may have been caused by the gravitational pull of a nearby planet. However, as the signal was faint, it was not clear whether it was caused by a planet, the star, or due to an instrumental error.

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Verification of signal

To verify the signal, an international team analysed the data with HARPS and its successor ESPRESSO.

“We worked on data analysis for years, gradually analyzing and eliminating all possible sources of contamination,” said Dr Cretignier. After combining the results from the two instruments, and using advanced processing methods and meticulous analyses, the planet’s discovery was confirmed.

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“For me, it was naturally a huge joy when we could confirm the planet's existence,” Dr Cretignier said. “It was also a relief, since the original signal was at the edge of the spectrograph's detection limit, so it was hard to be completely convinced at that time if the signal was real or not. Excitingly, its proximity to us (only 20 light years) means there is hope for future space missions to obtain an image of it.”

Opens door for future space projects

While the planet is located in the habitable zone, further study is needed to determine whether it could actually host life. The discovery of HD 20794 d will help scientists in future space projects designed to detect signs of life beyond our solar system.

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Dr Cretignier added, “With its location in a habitable zone and relatively close proximity to Earth, this planet could play a pivotal role in future missions that will characterize the atmospheres of exoplanets to search for biosignatures indicating potential life.”

“While my job mainly consists of finding these unknown worlds, I'm now very enthusiastic to hear what other scientists can tell us about this newly discovered planet, particularly since it is among the closest Earth-analogs we know about and given its peculiar orbit,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)