Every exoplanet discovery is an opportunity to refine models of planet formation, solar system architecture, habitable zones, and habitability itself. Each new planet injects more data into the scientific endeavour to understand what’s going on and how things got this way. However, some planets have such unusual characteristics that they invite a deeper focus and intense follow-up observations.
That’s the case for one new exoplanet. It’s a super-Earth on an unusual orbit that’s giving astronomers an opportunity to test the ideas of habitability and optimistic and pessimistic habitable zones.
Continue reading “A Super-Earth to Test the Limits of Habitability”