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A diverse cast of rocky worlds around a small star revealed by astronomers


A team led by UdeM researchers confirms a fifth potentially habitable planet around L 98-59, a red dwarf 35 light-years away.

“With its diversity of rocky worlds and range of planetary compositions, L 98-59 offers a unique laboratory to address some of the field’s most pressing questions: What are super-Earths and sub-Neptunes made of? Its proximity, the small size of its star, and the range of planetary compositions and orbits make it an ideal candidate for atmospheric follow-up with the JWST, which the IREx team has already started. “With these new results, L 98-59 joins the select group of nearby, compact planetary systems that we hope to understand in greater detail over the coming years,” says Alexandrine L’Heureux, co-author of the study and Ph.D. student at UdeM.

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