Astronomers have a reason to celebrate as a new Earth-like exoplanet has been found, thanks to a citizen scientist. Alexander Venner, a PhD student at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, sifted through data from NASA’s retired Kepler telescope. His manual search led to discovering a planet that had been missed by others.
Venner’s discovery came from examining data on the K-dwarf star HD 137010, located just 146 light-years away from Earth. He emphasized that “the best way to detect it was to actually just look,” according to a report by Science Magazine. This hands-on approach stands out in a field that often relies on complex algorithms to analyze vast amounts of data.
Finding exoplanets typically involves watching for dips in a star’s brightness. These dips indicate that a planet may be passing in front of the star, blocking some of its light. While over 6,000 exoplanets have been identified, only a handful resemble Earth in terms of size and orbit.
Most of the discovered planets tend to be large and hot, which makes them easier to spot. In contrast, smaller, Earth-sized planets located in a star’s habitable zone are rare and hard to detect. HD 137010b falls into this category, and it was initially overlooked due to its faint signal. Venner found it through the Planet Hunters project, a citizen science initiative that invites volunteers to analyze astronomical data.
His team concluded that HD 137010b could potentially support liquid water because it lies on the edge of its star’s habitable zone, with temperatures cooler than our Sun. This makes the planet particularly interesting, as many Earth-like worlds orbiting other stars tend to be located in harsher environments.
The excitement doesn’t stop there. HD 137010b is set to be observed by upcoming telescopes, including the European Space Agency’s PLATO mission. As Venner notes, “The advantage of this star is that we already know there’s a planet with Earth-like properties.” This could offer a clearer view of what might be a habitable world.
Overall, this discovery underlines how even amateur astronomers can lead to significant breakthroughs, proving that fresh perspectives in science can yield unexpected results.
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