The exoplanet TOI–1452 b is slightly larger and heavier than Earth - and could consist of up to just under a third of water. If this is confirmed, the celestial body would be the first real water world that we have discovered in space. Charles Cadieux of the Université de Montréal and his team describe this discovery in the "Astrophysical Journal". "TOI-1452 b is one of the best candidates for an ocean planet that we have found so far," says Cadieux.
TOI-1452 B is only 100 light years away in the dragon constellation and circles one of two small stars in a double star system. Even though the planet's orbit around its sun is only eleven days, it is located in the so -called habitable zone of this system. This means that the temperatures are in an area that allows the presence of liquid water. The Stern Toi-1452 is significantly smaller than our sun and as large as its star partner in the system. Both circle and have a distance of only 97 astronomical units. This corresponds approximately to the two and a half times a distance between the sun and Pluto.
The stars identified as red dwarfs are so close together that they were originally detected by NASA's TESS space telescope as a single object whose light was attenuated by a passing exoplanet every eleven days. Based on this signal, the astronomers assumed that it must be an object about 70 percent larger than the Earth. Thanks to a special camera at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, it was then possible to investigate it further and to break down the signal further. With this, the scientists confirmed that it was indeed an exoplanet that probably has a lot of water. A Japanese team was also able to confirm the observation later.
Cadieux and Co suspect that the planet could be completely covered with water - similar to some moons of Saturn or Jupiter, whose water is at least frozen.
