Scientists have discovered an Earth-like planet with the catchy name ‘Wolf 1069 b’ located a mere 31 light-years away, holding the potential for human habitation.
The exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf star Wolf 1069 holds promise for interstellar travelers with its habitable zone positioning and potential for liquid water, essential for life.
Only 31 light-years from Earth, it’s like a cosmic footstep, leaving as a 20-year-old, you could arrive on a new planet in your mid-fifties
The planet was discovered during a study called CARMENES which is a long-term study based around finding exoplanets.
Encouragingly, scientists believe that the planet sits in the habitable zone around its sun where water can exist in liquid form.
The study was undertaken by a team led by astronomer Diana Kossakowski of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.
Kossakowski said: “When we analyzed the data of the star Wolf 1069, we discovered a clear, low-amplitude signal of what appears to be a planet of roughly Earth mass.
“It orbits the star within 15.6 days at a distance equivalent to one-fifteenth of the separation between the Earth and the sun.”
