Alien 'Super Earth' found orbiting a nearby star

Researchers have discovered a NEW 'Super Earth' that could be habitable.

Super-Earths are a class of planets outside the solar system (exoplanets) and can be composed of gas, rock, or a combination of both.

They tend to have a mass higher than that of Earth, but lower than that of Uranus and Neptune, which are 14.5 and 17 times that of Earth, respectively.

The newly discovered planet, called TOI-715b, is about 1.5 times the size of Earth and orbits a red dwarf star 137 light-years away.

It is located in the star's conservative habitable zone (CHZ), where liquid water could potentially exist on its surface.

The system may also host another Earth-sized planet, which has yet to be confirmed.

If confirmed, it would be the smallest potentially habitable planet discovered by the TESS telescope.

NASA defines the 'Habitable Zone' as the distance from a star at which liquid water could exist on the surfaces of orbiting planets.

However, in the CHZ, a rocky planet receives between 0.42 and 0.842 as much solar radiation as Earth.

“Any rocky planet that receives that much energy is in the CHZ, regardless of distance,” says Science Alert noted.

This new research was published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

TOI-715b is an attractive target for further study because telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can analyze the atmosphere for signs of habitability, such as water vapor or other gases.

“Finally, the era of JWST has arrived, and with it the era of detailed exoplanetary atmospheric characterization,” the study reads.

This discovery adds to the growing number of potentially habitable planets being discovered outside our solar system.

Although TOI-715b is close to its 'habitable zone', it is unlikely to support life as we know it.

Because Earth is our only template, researchers aren't sure what life might look like on exoplanets.

“Life on other planets may be like nothing on Earth – it could be life as we don't know it,” NASA has said in the past.

“But at least initially it makes sense to look for something more familiar. Life as we know it should be easier to find. And 'the light is better' in the habitable zone.”

For decades, astronomers have been trying to find a planet like our own Earth that could support life.

So far, astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets, some of which could harbor life.

Of these exoplanets, 'super-Earths' are the most interesting to researchers.