A nearby transiting rocky exoplanet that is suitable for atmospheric investigation

Abstract

A transiting rocky planet 8 parsecs away: Most exoplanets have been detected using either the radial velocity (RV) method or the transit method, which provide only limited information on the planet's physical properties. In the rare cases in which both methods detect the same planet, the combination determines the planet's mass, radius, and density. Trifonov et al. identified a planet, Gliese 486 b, using both RV and transit data. The host star is a red dwarf only 8 parsecs away, making this one of the closest exoplanet systems known. A rocky super-Earth, Gliese 486 b has an equilibrium surface temperature of 700 kelvin. The authors say that it is observationally favorable for searches for an atmosphere. Science , this issue p. 1038