TOI-700 e is 95% the size of the Earth and, much to our surprise, orbits on the inner edge of the star’s habitable zone, between planets c and d. The Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite observed TOI-700 for another year, from July 2020 through May 2021, and using these observations our team found the fourth planet, TOI-700 e. We could also determine that the third planet from the star, TOI-700 d, orbits within its star’s habitable zone, where the temperature of the planet’s surface could allow for liquid water. These dips in light are caused by planets passing in front of the small, cool, red dwarf star at the center of the system.īy taking precise measurements of the changes in light, we were able to determine that at least three small planets are in the TOI-700 system, with hints of a possible fourth. Using a combination of observations from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Surveying Satellite mission and the Spitzer Space Telescope we discovered these planets by measuring small dips in the amount of light coming from TOI-700. TOI-700 first made headlines when our team announced the discovery of three small planets orbiting the star in early 2020. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center A pair of habitable siblings The TOI-700 system has a large habitable zone, and the newly discovered TOI-700 e, not shown in this image, orbits the star along the inner edge of the habitable zone. And perhaps most excitingly, astronomers have now found about a dozen exoplanets that are likely rocky and orbiting within the habitable zones of their respective stars.Īstronomers have even discovered a few systems – like TOI-700 – that have more than one planet orbiting in the habitable zone of their star. Today, there are more than 5,000 known exoplanets, ranging from gas giants to small rocky worlds. In 30 years, scientists have gone from barely being able to detect exoplanets to characterizing key chemical clues in their atmospheres, like water, using facilities like the James Webb Space Telescope. As detection methods and tools have improved, the amount of information scientists can learn about these planets has increased. The field of exoplanet discovery and research has been rapidly evolving ever since.Īt first, astronomers were finding only a few exoplanets each year, but the combination of new cutting-edge facilities focused on exoplanet science with improved detection sensitivity have led to astronomers’ discovering hundreds of exoplanets each year. From 1 to 5,000Īstronomers discovered the first exoplanet around a Sun-like star in 1995. Specific methods for detecting exoplanets, like the transit method, which looks for a dip in the light coming from a distant star as a planet passes in front of it, have led to an explosion in the number of known exoplanets. TOI-700 e stands out from many of these other planet discoveries because it is well suited for future studies that could help answer big question about the conditions for life outside the solar system. Instead, researchers are focusing their efforts on finding and studying systems most likely to answer key questions about how planets form, how they evolve, and whether life might exist in the universe. While it is always exciting to find a new, potentially habitable planet far from Earth, the focus of exoplanet research is shifting away from simply discovering more planets. Habitable planets are those that are just the right distance from their star to have a surface temperature that could sustain liquid water. In fact, TOI-700 e is one of two potentially habitable planets just in the TOI-700 star system. You’ve probably heard about some of the many other exoplanet discoveries in recent years. TOI-700 e is just over 100 light years from Earth – too far away for humans to visit – but we do know that it is similar in size to the Earth, likely rocky in composition and could potentially support life. We are two of the astronomers who led the discovery of this planet, called TOI-700 e. NASA recently announced the discovery of a new, Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a nearby star called TOI-700.
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