New Super-Earth TOI-715 b Found in Promising Habitable Zone
September 28, 2025
Astronomers discovered Super-Earth TOI-715 b, a promising world 1.5 times Earth's size, located within the conservative habitable zone of its parent star.
In a thrilling discovery for astrobiologists and stargazers alike, NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has identified a new 'Super-Earth' exoplanet named TOI-715 b. Located just 137 light-years away, this planet is approximately one-and-a-half times wider than Earth and orbits within the conservative habitable zone of its parent star. This placement suggests that the planet could harbor conditions suitable for liquid water to exist on its surface—a crucial ingredient for life as we know it.
A Candidate for Life?
TOI-715 b revolves around a red dwarf, a star smaller and cooler than our sun. This proximity means its 'year' is a swift 19 Earth days. Being in the 'conservative' habitable zone is particularly exciting; it's a narrower, more optimistic range where liquid water could exist, making it a prime candidate for further investigation. The system may also host a second, Earth-sized planet, which, if confirmed, would be the smallest habitable-zone planet discovered by TESS to date.
- Planet Type: Super-Earth
- Diameter: ~1.5 times that of Earth
- Star Type: Red Dwarf
- Orbital Period: 19 Earth days
- Key Feature: Located in the conservative habitable zone
Discoveries like TOI-715 b are critical stepping stones. They're not just new worlds, but new opportunities to ask one of humanity's oldest questions: Are we alone?
The planet's proximity and characteristics make it an excellent target for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Future observations will focus on its atmosphere, searching for biomarkers like methane and carbon dioxide. While older, tidally locked planets around red dwarfs face challenges like intense stellar radiation, TOI-715 b represents a significant and compelling new frontier in the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system. Learn more at the official NASA Exoplanet Archive.
New Super-Earth TOI-715 b Found in Promising Habitable Zone - FAQs
A Super-Earth is an exoplanet with a mass higher than Earth's but substantially below the masses of our solar system's ice giants, Uranus and Neptune.
The conservative habitable zone is a more restrictive region around a star where a rocky planet is most likely to maintain liquid water on its surface, making it a prime target in the search for life.
TOI-715 b was discovered using the transit method by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which detects dips in a star's light as a planet passes in front of it.
The next step is to use powerful observatories like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study the planet's atmosphere, looking for key gases and potential biosignatures.