According to science, the more we live, the more we’re closer to find life on other planets. The Universe should be teeming with life, and the best clues for a habitable planet are the following: the right distance from the host star, the presence of liquid water, the right amount of oxygen, and more.
After a series of observations made by TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), astronomers concluded that the exoplanet known as TOI-700d is Earth-sized and located within its star’s habitable zone (aka the Goldilocks Zone). This means that the exoplanet has high chances of hosting some life forms, but don’t expect scientists to find a way of going there in the near future.
102 light-years away from Earth
This is the distance that separates us from the M dwarf star, where TOI-700d is located. Even more, the newfound object is close to Earth in size and mass. Due to the dwelling within the Goldilocks Zone of its star, there’s a good chance that the planet has even water on its surface. A team of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics scientists is insisting on this idea, and they’ve published their work in The Astrophysical Journal.
Astronomers would need a lot more than to travel at the speed of light if they ever want to go to TOI-700d during a human lifetime to see for sure what’s going on there. But such a scenario would violate Einstein’s claim that nothing can surpass the speed of light, although a lot of scientists are optimistic that it will be possible someday.
Many observations are still required to understand if alien life really exists on the TOI-700d exoplanet. Even if the planet meets all the environmental conditions for hosting life, it doesn’t necessarily mean that extraterrestrial beings of any kind are really dwelling there.
