The SPECULOOS project, led by astronomer Michaël Gillon from the University of Liège, has recently discovered a new Earth-sized exoplanet around SPECULOOS-3, an “ultracool dwarf” star located 55 light-years away from Earth. Ultra-cool dwarf stars are the least massive stars in the Universe, with similar size to Jupiter, twice as cold as our Sun, and a hundred times less luminous. Although they are more common than Sun-like stars, they are poorly understood due to their low luminosity, especially when it comes to their planets. The discovery of SPECULOOS-3 b is significant as it is only the second planetary system found around this type of star.
The SPECULOOSconsortium, led by the University of Liège, made the discovery of SPECULOOS-3 b public, noting that the exoplanet is Earth-sized and located relatively close to our planet on a cosmic scale. The orbit of the planet lasts around 17 hours, with one side always facing the star, leading to endless days and nights. The SPECULOOS project, designed to search for exoplanets around ultra-cold dwarf stars, involves a network of professional robotic telescopes operated by multiple universities across different countries.
The SPECULOOS-3 star, more than twice as cold as our Sun, provides almost sixteen times more energy to the planet than the Earth receives. This extreme amount of high-energy radiation makes the presence of an atmosphere around the planet highly unlikely, according to researchers. The absence of an atmosphere could be beneficial for studying ultra-cool dwarf stars and their potentially habitable planets in more depth. The discovery of SPECULOOS-3 b presents an excellent opportunity for the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in 2021, which could provide new insights into the planet’s surface and revolutionize our understanding of the Universe.
The researchers involved in the project are excited about the possibilities that SPECULOOS-3 b offers for future studies and the hunt for more exoplanets. The JWST, in particular, is expected to provide valuable data that could enhance our knowledge of these distant worlds. The financiers of the project, including the Walloon Region and the University of Liège, have supported the addition of new telescopes to the SPECULOOS-North observatory on the Teide volcano in Tenerife. These additions, named Orion and Apollo, are expected to accelerate the search for Earth-sized exoplanets and facilitate further detailed studies of these fascinating celestial bodies.