NASA discovers a giant planet outside our solar system

The direct observations of NASA's space telescope revealed for the first time an empty atmosphere around a rocky planet the size of the Earth outside our solar system, gravitating around a star in the galaxy .

The new discovery came in a study published Monday in the journal Nature, according to which the surface of this distant planet is probably similar to the surface of the outer moon or the surface of Mercury and perhaps covered with dark volcanic rocks.

Located 48.6 light-years from Earth, the planet is one of more than 4,000 objects called extrasolar planets. It has been discovered over the past two decades orbiting distant stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Scientists call the planet LHS 3488B, about 1.3 times the size of the Earth and its 11-hour cycle in orbit around a relatively cold little star called red dwarf, the most widespread and oldest star. In the galaxy.

The study indicates that the planet's lack of atmosphere may be due to the intense radiation of the mother's red dwarf star, which emits high levels of ultraviolet radiation, even if it is opaque to stellar standards.

The study is likely to spark debate among astronomers as to whether the search for conditions conducive to life outside our solar system should be centered on planets close to red dwarfs, which represent about 75% of the stars in the world. Milky Way, or less common and larger stars. And hotter than the sun.