Far, far away

Look! Astronomers find a new habitable zone planet hiding from them

It’s not the only potentially habitable world in the TOI-700 system.

by Jennifer Walter
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Artist's impression of TOI-700 e, which is brown like Mars and has white streaks on the right side o...
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Robert Hurt

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith (USRA)

Of all the planets orbiting red dwarf star TOI-700, just one roughly Earth-sized world seemed to hold promise for hosting extraterrestrial life.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Robert Hurt

That was until astronomers took a closer look.

This week, a team led by NASA scientists announced that a second planet was just discovered in TOI-700’s habitable zone.

Tap