Closest Earth-like planet discovered

Called LTT 1445Ac, it's just 22 light-years away and is the closest Earth-like planet ever discovered. It was first identified in 2022, but the Hubble telescope determined its characteristics

It's just 22 light-years away, it's called LTT 1445Ac, and it's the closest Earth-like planet ever discovered. It was first identified in 2022 by the Tess exoplanet telescope, but only recent observations with the Hubble Space Telescope better defined its characteristics. The observations published in "The Astronomical Journal" were conducted by the research group led by Emily Pass of the Harvard & Smithsonian Institute in the United States.

By directing Hubble's gaze at the small star, researchers were able to verify the existence of a planet with very similar dimensions to Earth, a mass 1.37 times our planet and a diameter of 1.07. LTT 1445Ac is a twin of sorts to ours, which is however very close to its star, completing one orbit, one year, in just 3.12 days.

This planet is a rocky world, like Earth, and with roughly the same surface gravity. Unfortunately, researchers have verified that it also has an estimated surface temperature of 260 degrees Celsius, too hot to imagine the presence of life as we know it.

The observations have also signaled the possible presence of an atmosphere, and researchers are confident they will be able to use the James Webb Space Telescope to observe its details and analyze its composition.

  (A2 Televizion)