Scientists Discover ‘Second Earth’: Super-Earth TOI-1846 b Found 154 Light-Years Away
Astronomers discover TOI-1846 b, a water-rich super-Earth 154 light-years away. Though too hot for life, it offers key insights into rocky planet formation.
image for illustrative purpose
In a major breakthrough in exoplanetary research, scientists have discovered TOI-1846 b — a super-Earth nearly twice the size of our planet, located just 154 light-years from Earth. Orbiting a red dwarf star, this newly identified world could be rich in water, although extreme surface temperatures rule out the possibility of habitability.
The discovery was made using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and later confirmed with a combination of high-resolution imaging, ground-based photometry, and spectroscopy. According to researchers, the planet offers crucial insights into the formation and evolution of rocky, water-bearing worlds outside our solar system.
TOI-1846 b measures about 1.79 times the radius of Earth and has a mass roughly 4.4 times greater. It completes one orbit around its red dwarf host star every 3.93 days — an extremely close orbit that results in scorching surface temperatures of around 295°C. Despite this heat, its density and structure suggest a potentially water-rich composition, possibly beneath thick atmospheric or rocky layers.
The star that TOI-1846 b orbits is a red dwarf, smaller and cooler than our Sun, with 42% of the Sun’s mass and a surface temperature of 3,568 K. Estimated to be around 7.2 billion years old, this stable and long-lived star provides an ideal environment for exoplanet detection.
The confirmation of TOI-1846 b involved multiple observation methods. TESS first detected the planet’s transit, while follow-up observations helped rule out false positives. Though its low Transmission Spectroscopy Metric (TSM) score suggests challenges in studying its atmosphere, scientists remain optimistic about exploring its interior and composition through high-precision radial velocity techniques.
This discovery adds to a growing list of super-Earths that could reshape our understanding of planet formation and water retention beyond Earth. While TOI-1846 b is not habitable, it provides a valuable case study for astronomers exploring the diversity and potential of rocky planets in the universe.
