The Milky Way is quite average in sizea galaxy, which, however, was able to shelter about 100 billion planets. Each of these worlds has its own unique features and characteristics, sometimes fundamentally different from those that we are used to seeing on Earth. One of such unusual worlds may be the rocky planet LTT1445Ab, which revolves immediately around three stars. Despite the fact that the planet can hardly shelter any life, the study of its features can bring a great contribution to the development of modern astrophysics.
Planet LTT1445Ab as an artist
A planet lit by three stars
The LTT1445Ab system is a trio ofsmall red stars that are at a distance of about 22.5 years from our sun. An exoplanet orbiting around LTT 14455A, the system’s brightest star, is approximately 1.35 times larger than the Earth and 8 times more massive, receiving 5 times more solar radiation from its star. Employees of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics consider the discovered object to be transitory due to the fact that for its short orbital period of 5 full days, the exoplanet completely passes the path in front of its star, allowing observers from the Earth to see a barely noticeable reduction in the light emitted by the star.
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Being almost in the vicinity of the SolarWith a system, exoplanet gives astronomers a unique opportunity to carefully study the composition of its atmosphere. The main question for researchers was the possibility of the presence of oxygen and water vapor in it, which may indicate the possible presence of life. However, even if oxygen was somehow stored on the LTT1445Ab, Harvard researchers are not hoping to find any traces of potential organisms on the exoplanet: extremely high temperatures and a high level of radiation make this place absolutely unsuitable for the emergence of biological life.
Planet LTT1445Ab is located near three red dwarf stars
Despite the fact that a planet from a triple system does notsuitable for life, scientists will continue to collect data on the exoplanet to improve the analysis of the atmospheres of distant planets using the Magellan, Hubble and Spitzer telescopes. In addition, experts hope to understand whether it is possible to replenish the gas shell of a planet located extremely close to its star with the help of fumes emitted by the planet’s crust.
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Exoplanet with three stars may beinteresting for researchers also because in the ternary system it is extremely rare to immediately see three M-dwarfs, considered one of the coldest and smallest stars in our galaxy. At a time when the planet revolves around its main star, the other two alternately approach and move away from each other, as if in a space dance. In a sense, the presence of a planet near three stars can turn out to be a very exciting phenomenon, even despite the impossibility of any life on LTT1445Ab. In addition, the view of the day sky on the exoplanet must be truly cosmic!