NASA‘s space telescope has discovered an interesting planet nearly the size of Earth, located 40 light-years away from Earth around a cool red dwarf star.

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This planet is known as “Gliese 12 b” and orbits its star at a distance that places it in the habitable zone, meaning it could potentially contain water, the essential element for life.

According to the “Space” website, “Gliese 12 b” is about 7% of the distance between the Earth and the Sun from its star, making its year only 12.8 days long. Thanks to the nature of the red dwarf star “Gliese 12”, which is cooler than the Sun, the temperatures on the planet’s surface could be suitable for life.

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The scientists who discovered the planet using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) are still unsure about the existence of an atmosphere on this new planet, but they are optimistic. If the planet does have an atmosphere, it is likely to be thin, which is beneficial for the possibility of life.

Red dwarfs, like “Gliese 12”, are the most common type of star in our galaxy. These stars burn slowly and live very long, providing more opportunities for life to develop on the planets that orbit them.

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However, these stars are magnetically active and release strong flares of X-rays, which can negatively impact the atmospheres of nearby planets.

The team that discovered “Gliese 12 b” plans to conduct further research using other telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), to study the planet’s atmosphere in more detail. They also hope to use other methods, like the radial velocity method, to better determine the planet’s characteristics.