OREANDA-NEWS. The TESS space telescope has discovered a planet that can contain water and oceans. In addition, the exoplanet revolves around a quiet star, and this is another argument in its favor. This is the first, but certainly not the last potentially inhabited world discovered by the TESS Observatory.

Recall that the Tess space telescope was launched into space in 2018. His mission is to search for exoplanets, including those similar to Earth. So far, TESS has discovered 17 Earth-like planets orbiting 11 stars. All these luminaries are red dwarfs that are smaller and colder than the Sun.

One of the stars near which life can theoretically be is the TOI-700 Star (aka TIC 150428135). Astronomers have discovered three exoplanets about the size of the Earth.

The most interesting, according to scientists, is the third exoplanet TOI-700d from this star. Its radius is 1.1 terrestrial, and its orbital period is 37 terrestrial days. It is this orbit around the cool local sun that gives TOI-700d the likelihood of life. According to scientists, the planet receives 86% of the heat that goes to the Earth. This means that the temperature on this celestial body allows for the existence of liquid water and, therefore, the biosphere. According to experts, the exoplanet is in the habitable zone.

These planets and their stars have only one significant drawback so far: the TOI-700 star is more than a hundred light years from Earth. It's too far to directly study the atmosphere of a small planet like TOI-700d.