This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: The article does not yet include recent discoveries such as Teegarden b and c, the planets of L 98-59, Gliese 486 b and Wolf 1069 b..(February 2024) |
This list of nearest terrestrial exoplanet candidates contains possible terrestrial ("rocky") exoplanets spaced at a distance of up to 50 light-years from the Solar System, ordered by increasing distance. [1] [2] [3]
They may be composed primarily of silicate rocks and/or metals. Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets are the inner planets closest to the Sun.
This list is incomplete, currently containing 34 exoplanets, 11 of which probably lie inside their star's habitable zone.
There are roughly 2,000 stars at a distance of up to 50 light-years from the Solar System [4] (64 of them are yellow-orange "G" stars like the Sun [5] ). As many as 15% of them could have Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones. [6]
On November 4, 2013, astronomers reported, based on Kepler space mission data, that there could be as many as 40 billion Earth-sized planets orbiting in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars and red dwarf stars within the Milky Way galaxy. [7] [8] Eleven billion of these estimated planets may be orbiting Sun-like stars. [9] The nearest such planet was then as close as 12 light-years away [7] [8] but (see below) is now estimated slightly above four light-years away.
On August 24, 2016, astronomers announced the discovery of a rocky planet in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth (not counting the Sun). Called Proxima b, the planet is 1.3 times the mass of Earth and has an orbital period of roughly 11.2 Earth days. [10] However, Proxima Centauri's classification as a red dwarf casts doubts on the habitability of any exoplanets in its orbit due to low stellar flux, high probability of tidal locking, small circumstellar habitable zones and high stellar variation. Another likely candidate is Alpha Centauri, Earth's nearest Sun-like star system 4.37 light-years away. Estimates place the probability of finding a habitable planet around Alpha Centauri A or B at roughly 75%. [11] Alpha Centauri is the target of several exoplanet-finding missions, including Breakthrough Starshot and Mission Centaur, the latter of which is chronicled in the 2016 documentary film The Search for Earth Proxima. [12]
Name | M🜨 | R🜨 | g | Ts | a | e | [s] | D |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Proxima Centauri b | ≥1.27 | ~1.1 | 234 K -39°C | 0.05 | <0.35 | [10] | 4.22 | |
Proxima Centauri c | ~7 | 39 K -234 °C [13] | ~1.489 | ~0.04 | 4.22 | |||
Ross 128 b | ≥1.40 | 213 to 301 K -60 to 28 °C | 11.03 | |||||
Luyten b | ≥2.89 | ≥1.35 | 259 K -14 °C | 0.091 | 0.10 | 12.20 | ||
Wolf 1061c | ≥4.3 | ≥1.64 | - - | [14] | 13.8 | |||
Wolf 1061d | ≥5.21 | ≥2.04 | - - | 13.8 | ||||
Gliese 876 d [15] | 6.8 | 650 K 377 °C [16] | 0.021 | 0.21 | [17] | 15 | ||
Gliese 682 b | ≥2 | - - | [6] [18] [14] | 16 | ||||
Gliese 832 c | ≥5.4 | 251 K -22 °C | 0.162 | 0.03 | [19] [20] | 16.16 | ||
82 G. Eridani b | ≥2.7 | 660 K 387 °C [1] | 0.1207 | 0 | [2] | 19.71 | ||
82 G. Eridani c | ≥2.4 | 508 K 235 °C [1] | 0.2036 | 0 | [2] | 19.71 | ||
82 G. Eridani d | ≥4.8 | 388 K 115 °C [1] | 0.3499 | 0 | [2] | 19.71 | ||
Gliese 581 e | ≥1.7 | - - | 0.029 | 0 | [21] | 20 | ||
Gliese 581 c [22] | ≥5.6 | - - | 0.072 | 0 | [21] | 20 | ||
Gliese 581 d [23] | ≥5.6 | 2.34 [24] | 1.27 [24] | 233 K -41 °C [24] | 0.218 | 0 | [21] | 20 |
HD 219134 b | 4.5 | 1.6 | 700 K 427 °C | [25] | 21 | |||
Gliese 667 Cb | 6.30 | 1.44 | 445 K 172 °C | 0.05 | 0.09 | [24] | 22 | |
Gliese 667 Cc [26] [27] | 3.8 | 1.32 | 302 K 29 °C | 0.13 | 0.34 | [24] | 22 | |
61 Virginis b [28] | ≥5.1 | - - | 0.050 | 0.12 | [29] | 28 | ||
HD 85512 b [30] | ≥3.6 | 1.74 [24] | 1.33 [24] | 351 K 78 °C [24] | 0.26 | 0.11 | [31] | 36 |
GJ 180 b | ≥2.3 | 312 K 39 °C | [6] [19] | 38 | ||||
TRAPPIST-1b | - - | [32] | 39.5 | |||||
TRAPPIST-1c | - - | [32] | 39.5 | |||||
TRAPPIST-1d | 0.48 | 282.1 K 9 °C [24] | [32] | 39.5 | ||||
TRAPPIST-1e | 246.1 K -27.1 °C [24] | [32] | 39.5 | |||||
TRAPPIST-1f | 219 K -54 °C [24] | [32] | 39.5 | |||||
TRAPPIST-1g | 198.6 K -75 °C [24] | [32] | 39.5 | |||||
TRAPPIST-1h | 169 K -104 °C [24] | [32] | 39.5 | |||||
55 Cancri e (Janssen) | 8.6 | - - | 0.016 | 0.17 | [33] | 40 | ||
HD 40307 b [34] | ≥4.2 | - - | 0.047 | 0.2 | [34] | 42 | ||
HD 40307 c [34] | ≥6.8 | - - | 0.081 | 0.06 | [34] | 42 | ||
HD 40307 d [35] | ≥9.2 | - - | 0.134 | 0.07 | [34] | 42 | ||
HD 40307 e | ≥3.5 | - - | 0.1886 | 0.15 | [3] | 42 | ||
HD 40307 f | ≥5.2 | 385 K 112 °C | 0.247 | 0.02 | [3] | 42 | ||
HD 40307 g | ≥7.1 | 284 K 11 °C [36] | 0.600 | 0.29 | [3] | 42 | ||
Note: There is no scientific consensus about terrestrial composition of most of the planets in the list. Sources in the "Main source" column confirm the possibility of terrestrial composition.
In September 2012, the discovery of two planets orbiting Gliese 163 [37] was announced. [38] [39] One of the planets, Gliese 163 c, about 6.9 times the mass of Earth and somewhat hotter, was considered to be within the habitable zone, but is probably not terrestrial. [38] [39]
In May 2016, the finding of three Earth-like planets of ultracool dwarf TRAPPIST-1 has been released.
The existence of the planet Gliese 832 c was refuted in 2022, when a study found that the radial velocity signal shows characteristics of a signal originating from stellar activity, and not from a planet.
Distance | Lying within the habitable zone | All |
---|---|---|
< 10 light-years | 0 (2?) | 2 |
< 20 light-years | 6 | 15 |
< 30 light-years | 8 | 22 |
< 40 light-years | 10 | 24 |
< 50 light-years | 11 | 31 |
Note: in most cases the composition of the atmosphere and atmosphere pressure of exoplanets are unknown, so surface temperatures are estimates based on computer models and expert opinions.
GJ 1061 is a red dwarf star located 12 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Horologium. Even though it is a relatively nearby star, it has an apparent visual magnitude of about 13, so it can only be seen with at least a moderately-sized telescope.
Gliese 581 is a red dwarf star of spectral type M3V at the center of the Gliese 581 planetary system, about 20.5 light years away from Earth in the Libra constellation. Its estimated mass is about a third of that of the Sun, and it is the 101st closest known star system to the Sun. Gliese 581 is one of the oldest, least active M dwarfs known. Its low stellar activity improves the likelihood of its planets retaining significant atmospheres, and lessens the sterilizing impact of stellar flares.
Gliese 581d is a doubtful, and frequently disputed, exoplanet candidate orbiting within the Gliese 581 system, approximately 20.4 light-years away in the Libra constellation. It was the third planet claimed in the system and the fourth or fifth in order from the star. Multiple subsequent studies found that the planetary signal in fact originates from stellar activity, and thus the planet does not exist, but this remains disputed.
A Super-Earth is a type of exoplanet with a mass higher than Earth's, but substantially below those of the Solar System's ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, which are 14.5 and 17 times Earth's, respectively. The term "super-Earth" refers only to the mass of the planet, and so does not imply anything about the surface conditions or habitability. The alternative term "gas dwarfs" may be more accurate for those at the higher end of the mass scale, although "mini-Neptunes" is a more common term.
Gliese 581e or Gl 581e is an exoplanet orbiting within the Gliese 581 system, located approximately 20.4 light-years away from Earth in the Libra constellation. It is the third planet discovered in the system and the first in order from the star.
Gliese 433 is a dim red dwarf star with multiple exoplanetary companions, located in the equatorial constellation of Hydra. The system is located at a distance of 29.6 light-years from the Sun based on parallax measurements, and it is receding with a radial velocity of +18 km/s. Based on its motion through space, this is an old disk star. It is too faint to be viewed with the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 9.81 and an absolute magnitude of 10.07.
An exoplanet is a planet located outside the Solar System. The first evidence of an exoplanet was noted as early as 1917, but was not recognized as such until 2016; no planet discovery has yet come from that evidence. What turned out to be the first detection of an exoplanet was published among a list of possible candidates in 1988, though not confirmed until 2003. The first confirmed detection came in 1992, with the discovery of terrestrial-mass planets orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12. The first confirmation of an exoplanet orbiting a main-sequence star was made in 1995, when a giant planet was found in a four-day orbit around the nearby star 51 Pegasi. Some exoplanets have been imaged directly by telescopes, but the vast majority have been detected through indirect methods, such as the transit method and the radial-velocity method. As of 1 February 2024, there are 5,606 confirmed exoplanets in 4,136 planetary systems, with 889 systems having more than one planet. This is a list of the most notable discoveries.
Gliese 667 Cc is an exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Gliese 667 C, which is a member of the Gliese 667 triple star system, approximately 23.62 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius. The exoplanet was found by using the radial velocity method, from radial-velocity measurements via observation of Doppler shifts in the spectrum of the planet's parent star.
Gliese 163 is a faint red dwarf star with multiple exoplanetary companions in the southern constellation of Dorado. Other stellar catalog names for it include HIP 19394 and LHS 188. It is too faint to be visible to the naked eye, having an apparent visual magnitude of 11.79 and an absolute magnitude of 10.91. This system is located at a distance of 49.4 light-years from the Sun based on parallax measurements. Judging by its space velocity components, it is most likely a thick disk star.
HD 40307 g is an exoplanet candidate suspected to be orbiting in the habitable zone of HD 40307. It is located 42 light-years away in the direction of the southern constellation Pictor. The planet was discovered by the radial velocity method, using the European Southern Observatory's HARPS apparatus by a team of astronomers led by Mikko Tuomi at the University of Hertfordshire and Guillem Anglada-Escude of the University of Göttingen, Germany.
Gliese 180, is a small red dwarf star in the equatorial constellation of Eridanus. It is invisible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 10.9. The star is located at a distance of 39 light years from the Sun based on parallax, and is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −14.6 km/s. It has a high proper motion, traversing the sky at the rate of 0.765 arcseconds per year.
Proxima Centauri b, sometimes referred to as Alpha Centauri Cb, is an exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, which is the closest star to the Sun and part of the larger triple star system Alpha Centauri. It is about 4.2 light-years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus, making it and Proxima d, along with the currently disputed Proxima c, the closest known exoplanets to the Solar System.
Mikko Tuomi is a Finnish astronomer from the University of Hertfordshire, most known for his contributions to the discovery of a number of exoplanets, among them the Proxima Centauri b which orbits the closest star to the Sun. Mikko Tuomi was the first to find indications of the existence of Proxima Centauri b in archival observation data. Other exoplanets to whose discovery or study Tuomi has contributed include HD 40307, HD 154857 c, Kapteyn c, Gliese 682 c, HD 154857, Gliese 221, Gliese 581 g and the planetary system orbiting Tau Ceti. He has led the development of new data analysis techniques for distinguishing observations caused by natural activity of the star and those caused by planets orbiting them.
Luyten b is a confirmed exoplanet, likely rocky, orbiting within the habitable zone of the nearby red dwarf Luyten's Star. It is the fourth-closest potentially habitable exoplanet known, at a distance of 12 light-years. Only Proxima Centauri b, Ross 128 b, and GJ 1061 d are closer. Discovered alongside Gliese 273c in June 2017, Luyten b is a super-Earth of around 2.89 times the mass of Earth and receives only 6% more starlight than Earth, making it one of the best candidates for habitability.
Tau Ceti f is a potential super-Earth or mini-Neptune orbiting Tau Ceti that was discovered in 2012 by statistical analyses of the star's variations in radial velocity, based on data obtained using HIRES, AAPS, and HARPS. It is of interest because its orbit places it in Tau Ceti's extended habitable zone, but a 2015 study implies that there may not be a detectable biosignature because it has only been in the temperate zone for less than one billion years. In 2017, it was again recovered from radial-velocity data, along with Tau Ceti e. Despite this, it remains an unconfirmed candidate.
HD 189567 is a star with a pair of orbiting exoplanets, located in the southern constellation of Pavo. It is also known as Gliese 776, CD-67 2385, and HR 7644. The star has an apparent visual magnitude of 6.07, which is bright enough for it to be dimly visible to the naked eye. It lies at a distance of 58 light years from the Sun based on parallax measurements, but is drifting closer with a radial velocity of −10.5 km/s.
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