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Astronomers have discovered a planet in size with the Earth, which rotates around the star at the same distance as our planet from the Sun. However, the star of the planet OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb is very dull, because of what the planet is most likely covered by a snow-ice desert, reports NASA.
The planet was discovered using the method of gravitational microlensing. If the radiation of a distant star, moving to the Earth, passes by another star, its gravity distorts the trajectory of light, acting as an enlarging lens. If the second star has a planet, one can sometimes find its contribution to lensing, which changes with the same frequency with which the planet moves in orbit. OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb was the smallest planet that was discovered using this method.
The planet is located at a distance of 13 thousand light-years from the Earth, and its light was so small that scientists are not sure whether it's a star or a brown dwarf. The mass of the star around which the OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb rotates is only 7.8% of the mass of the Sun. The star may turn out to be a representative of the class of ultracold dwarfs.
February 22 at a press conference NASA told about the discovery of seven earth-like planets from the star TRAPPIST-1 - red dwarf in the constellation of Aquarius, which is located at a distance of 40 light years from Earth. Three of the seven planets discovered rotate in the inhabited zone of the star, that is, they can have a life.