All reports
June 2017 - Juno's Report
Report #28 - May 2017
Another Opportunity for Potential Life
More than ever, there's been plenty of buzz about Proxima b and the planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system and their potential ability to support liquid water. Meanwhile, another exoplanet has been paving its way into also being a candidate for liquid water and habitability. This exoplanet is known as LHS 1140b, a super-Earth that, at the end of the day, just might outdo Proxima b and even those three TRAPPIST-1 planets in the habitable zone.
LHS 1140b Specifications:
Distance from Earth: 40 light years
Constellation: Cetus
Orbital period: 25 days (7.4 million miles)
Parent star: LHS 1140
About its size: LHS 1140b is believed to be 40% wider and 6.6 times more massive than Earth—a super-Earth, indeed.
An artist's interpretation of LHS 1140b relative to its parent star, LHS 1140.
Why LHS 1140b shouldn't be underestimated
LHS 1140b may have a greater chance of housing life than Proxima b and the TRAPPIST-1 planets.
The Issue With Proxima b:
Proxima b, while it may be nearly four times closer to Earth than LHS 1140b, or 4.2 light years away, it cannot be analyzed anytime soon because it is believed that the exoplanet does not transit, or pass in front of, its parent star, Proxima Centauri. This makes it difficult for scientists to learn more about Proxima b when the main method for studying an exoplanet's habitability is observing the fluctuations of starlight through the planet's atmosphere as it transits its parent star.
The Issue With TRAPPIST-1
While all seven planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system transit their parent star, TRAPPIST-1A, the possibility for potential life on any of them, even those in the habitable zone, is significantly reduced. This due to a concern that the red dwarf, TRAPPIST-1A, being a young star, emits high-energy radiation, which would "sterilize the environment" of any planet in the system, making life unsupportable.
LHS 1140b's Potential
On the contrary, while LHS 1140 may also be a red dwarf, the older star spins slower and thus emits less high-energy radiation. Moreover, the exoplanet LHS 1140b, being dimmer than our sun, is believed to be in the habitable zone, putting the it in the running for possibly supporting liquid water, and thus a worthy celestial body for further observation.
