Page 6 - Spec Tech Vol 1 Issue 04
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Two new temperate rocky worlds



         discovered














































         Artist’s view showing the red star and its two planets, together with some of the telescopes used for the discovery. The data that
         led to the discovery is depicted on the solar panels of the TESS satellite. Credit: University of  Birmingham / Amanda J. Smith


         An international research team including astronomers at the University of Birmingham, has just
         announced the discovery of two "super-Earth" planets orbiting LP 890-9, a small, cool star
         located about 100 light-years from Earth.

         The star, also called TOI-4306 or SPECULOOS-2, is the second-coolest star found to host
         planets, after the famous TRAPPIST-1.

         The system's inner planet, called LP 890-9b, is about 30% larger than Earth and completes an
         orbit around the star in just 2.7 days. This first planet was initially identified as a possible planet
         candidate by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). This candidate was
         confirmed and characterized by the SPECULOOS telescopes (Search for habitable Planets
         Eclipsing Ultra-Cool Stars), one of which is operated by the University of Birmingham.
         SPECULOOS researchers then used their telescopes to seek additional transiting planets in the
         system that would have been missed by TESS. The telescopes of the SPECULOOS project,
         installed at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile and on the island of Tenerife, are optimised to
         observe this type of star with high precision. The observations of LP 890-9 gathered by
         SPECULOOS proved fruitful as they not only confirmed the first planet, but they were critical for
         the detection of a second, previously unknown planet. This second planet, LP 890-9c (renamed
         SPECULOOS-2c by the SPECULOOS researchers), is similar in size to the first (about 40%
         larger than Earth) but has a longer orbital period of about 8.5 days.



         Space Explorer 2022                                                                                                                                                    6
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