The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has discovered a new potentially habitable earth-size exoplanet known to date.
Reports say Astronomers are interested in the discovery made by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) because NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope may be used to further investigate the newly found exoplanet.
Masayuki Kuzuhara, a project assistant professor at the Tokyo Astrobiology Center, who co-led one of the study teams with University of Tokyo professor Akihiko Fukui, announced the discovery on Saturday.
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He said they have found “the nearest, transiting, temperate, Earth-size world located to date.”
Michael McElwain, a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, also confirmed the development in a statement.
“We know of only a handful of temperate planets similar to Earth that are both close enough to us and meet other criteria needed for this kind of study, called transmission spectroscopy, using current facilities.
“To better understand the diversity of atmospheres and evolutionary outcomes for these planets, we need more examples like Gliese 12 b,” he added.
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