Scientists use NASA's TESS to discover ‘super-earth’ that could host billions—Is TOI-1846 b humanity's next home?

Scientists have discovered a "super-Earth" that can potentially support life. The exoplanet, if it can support life, can accommodate Earth's population and more, as it is nearly twice as big and is four times more massive than our blue planet. This super-Earth has been designated as TOI-1846 b and is estimated to be around 7.2 billion years old. It is located about 154 light-years away from our planet and has been discovered by a team of astronomers using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

All we know about super-earth TOI-1846 b

The team of astronomers that discovered TOI-1846 b was led by Abderahmane Soubkiou of the Oukaimeden Observatory in Morocco. They have published their research on the arXiv preprint server. "We have validated TOI-1846 b using TESS and multicolour ground-based photometric data, high-resolution imaging, and spectroscopic observations," the researchers wrote in their paper.

According to their findings, the exoplanet boasts a radius of around 1.792 Earth radii and is about 4.4 times more massive than our planet Earth. When compared to the Sun, this planet is only 40 per cent the size, while its mass is approximately 0.42 the solar mass. Just like Earth revolves around the Sun, this newly discovered super-Earth also orbits a host. However, its orbit is completed in 3.93 Earth days.

Is TOI-1846 b habitable?

According to the study, the planet's equilibrium temperature is around 568.1 K (or around 294.95). This is almost double the Earth's equilibrium temperature of 255 K, which means that the temperature may not be conducive to life. However, the planet, as per the research, is likely water-rich, which is a plus point for it being suitable for life. However, to accurately rule it as a habitable or non-habitable planet, scientists will first have to conduct radial velocity (RV) observations of TOI-1846 b to unveil the planet's composition. "These findings make TOI-1846 b well-suited for mass determination via RV observations. This could be possible with the MAROON-X instrument. (...) We find a TSM [transmission spectroscopy metric] of 47 for TOI-1846 b, which is below the 90 benchmark for small sub-Neptunes," wrote the paper's authors.