New 'super-Earth' discovered near the Solar System.

The new 'super-Earth' orbits very close to its parent star and completes one orbit in less than 4 Earth days.

The planet TOI-1846 b is twice the size and four times the mass of Earth - Photo: newsbytesapp.com

An international team of scientists has just discovered an exoplanet, classified as a "super-Earth," orbiting the red dwarf star TOI-1846, located about 154 light-years from us.

According to a new announcement posted on the arXiv archive, this planet, named TOI-1846 b, is twice the size and more than four times the mass of Earth.

TOI-1846 b was identified using data from NASA's TESS exoplanet survey satellite, combined with additional observations from the ground. TESS, launched in 2018, specializes in searching for planets using the "transit" method – when a planet passes in front of a star, slightly reducing its brightness.

To date, TESS has detected more than 7,600 exoplanet candidates, of which 636 have been confirmed.

Following the detection of transit signals around TOI-1846, a research team led by Abderahmane Soubkiou at the Oukaimeden Observatory (Morocco) conducted multi-color optical measurements and spectral observations to confirm that it was indeed a planet.

According to the analysis, TOI-1846 b has a radius of approximately 1.79 times that of Earth, a mass 4.4 times greater, and an average density of 4.2 g/cm³ - suggesting it contains a large amount of water or light material.

This planet orbits its parent star very closely, at a distance of only about 0.036 astronomical units (AU), equivalent to approximately 5.4 million kilometers, and completes one orbit in less than 4 Earth days. Its surface temperature is estimated to be 568 Kelvin (approximately 295 degrees Celsius).

Notably, TOI-1846 b lies within a "radial gap"—a region of size where planets are sparsely distributed, separating rocky super-Earths and densely atmospheric mini-Neptunes. This transition zone typically has a radius around 1.8 times that of Earth, and the existence of TOI-1846 b could help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of planets.

Researchers recommend further measurements of the planet's radial velocity to determine its detailed composition, with the MAROON-X instrument expected to be used. They also noted the planet's atmospheric spectroscopic study capability (TSM) index is 47, lower than the threshold of around 90 typically used to prioritize detailed atmospheric surveys.

The host star TOI-1846 is a tiny red dwarf, only 0.4 times the size of the Sun and with approximately 42% of the Sun's mass. Its surface temperature is around 3,568 Kelvin (3,295 degrees Celsius), and its age is estimated to be about 7.2 billion years – much older than our Sun.

This new discovery not only expands the list of near-solar super-Earths but also helps shed light on the mysterious gap in planetary size distribution, while offering opportunities to study the composition and climate of these distant worlds .

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phat-hien-sieu-trai-dat-moi-gan-he-mat-troi-20250703090451979.htm