An interesting super-Earth, a planet that is between 30 and 70 percent larger than Earth, has been discovered by a NASA telescope that orbits our globe. The rocky planet lies 137 light-years away in another solar system, which is regarded as rather close in the immensity of space (a light-year is roughly 6 trillion miles). The exoplanet initially named as TOI-715 b is about 1.5 times bigger than the Earth. And, most importantly, this world orbits within the habitable, or Goldilocks, zone.
NASA has confirmed a new discovery of a ‘Super-Earth’ that could support life
In the vastness of space, this rocky planet is located 137 light-years away from us in another solar system, which is rather close (a light-year is roughly 6 trillion miles). The exoplanet is roughly 1.5 times the size of Earth and is known as TOI-715 b. Furthermore, this world is located inside the “Goldilocks,” or habitable, zone. Although TOI-715 b orbits very near to its star (each orbit lasts only 19 days), unlike some other exoplanets, astronomers do not believe it to be a terrible, searing world. Because its star is a red dwarf, which is cooler and smaller than our medium-sized star, the sun, this is the case.
When the planet was discovered, scientists reported it in the Royal Astronomical Society’s Monthly Notices. Although this far-off world is only visible to us as a dark dot when it occasionally passes in front of its red dwarf star from a great distance, NASA has developed a model of what TOI-715 b would be like. Moreover, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the space observatory that discovered TOI-715 b, is built to search for exoplanets that are transiting in front of their sun. Their presence, as well as other planetary features, is revealed by this.
Rocky worlds surrounding colder red dwarfs are the best areas to search for environments that might harbor life-supporting conditions since these objects often have shorter years (e.g., 19 days), and their short orbits make it easier for a telescope like TESS to detect their transits. Scientists are looking to use the James Webb Space Telescope to observe a place situated almost a million kilometers from Earth so they can add extra research on TOI-715 b. By peering into the atmospheres of far-off exoplanets, Webb can better understand what these worlds might be like.
Trump’s budget might not be good news for NASA
This week the Trump White House forwarded the space agency the draft of its budget request, which is part of the process to develop a budget for fiscal year 2026. According to this first draft of the administration’s budget request, the agency’s entire budget would be slashed by around 20%, or $5 billion, out of a total topline of roughly $25 billion. The Science Mission Directorate of the agency, which is in charge of all planetary science, Earth science, astrophysics research, and other areas, is where most of the NASA cuts are concentrated.
The “passback” documents presented to NASA officials Thursday proposed a nearly 50 percent reduction in funding for the agency’s science missions. The Trump administration’s planned science topline budget for the upcoming fiscal year is only $3.9 billion, compared to $7.5 billion for research in fiscal year 2025. The funding for astrophysics, heliophysics, Earth science, and planetary science has been reduced by two-thirds; heliophysics by more than two-thirds; Earth science by over fifty percent; and planetary science by thirty percent, with a total budget reduction of $1.929 billion.
Even though the new budget will still fund current projects like the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope, it would be way lower than expected for the highly anticipated Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is an observatory that is already assembled and scheduled to launch in less than two years. Funding for the DAVINCI Venus mission and Mars Sample Return was also significantly reduced. The agency employs 10,000 federal servants and contractors at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, which is also expected to be forced to close as a result of the budget cuts.
