Overview
- An international team led by Alexander Venner reported HD 137010 b in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on Jan. 27, describing a rocky world slightly larger than Earth about 146–150 light-years away.
- The host star is a relatively bright, cooler K-dwarf, so the candidate likely receives less than one-third of Earth’s sunlight, implying possible surface temperatures near −68°C (−90°F).
- Modeling suggests roughly a 40% chance the world lies in the conservative habitable zone and 51% in the optimistic zone, with about a 50–50 chance it sits outside the habitable zone entirely.
- The detection is based on a single K2 transit lasting about 10 hours, with an estimated roughly year-long orbital period that makes repeat transits infrequent and validation challenging.
- Scientists highlight prospects for follow-up with TESS, ESA’s CHEOPS, radial-velocity campaigns, or future telescopes, and note the candidate’s value and Planet Hunters’ citizen-science role if it is confirmed.