Astronomers have discovered a new rocky exoplanet, TOI-1846 b, orbiting a nearby star. The detection was made possible by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which tracks 200,000 bright stars for signs of fluctuations caused by exoplanet transits. These fluctuations were detected in the red dwarf star TOI-1846, located 154 light-years from our Sun.
The exoplanet has a radius about 1.8 times that of Earth and is 4.4 times more massive, giving it a density similar to rocky bodies. Its parent star, TOI-1846, has a significantly smaller size and mass than our Sun, emitting less energy. Despite this proximity, the exoplanet’s equilibrium temperature is estimated at 295 °C, lower than Mercury’s surface temperature.
TOI-1846 b orbits its star every 3.93 days at an incredibly close distance of 5.4 million km. Scientists have determined that it is likely a water-rich super-Earth in the sub-Neptune desert, characterized by a “deficit” of short-period exoplanets with Earth-like radii. This phenomenon may be attributed to photoevaporation under high-energy radiation from the star.
Source: https://universemagazine.com/en/twice-the-size-of-earth-exoplanet-is-found-near-a-red-dwarf-star