August 21, 2016

Artistic concept of the exoplanet GJ 1132b with its star in the background (Image courtesy Dana Berry / Skyworks Digital / CfA)

An article accepted for publication in “The Astrophysical Journal” describes a research on the exoplanet GJ 1132b, taken as an example of a rocky planet orbiting close to a red dwarf star. A team of astronomers led by Laura Schaefer of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) used computer models to simulate the evolution of that type of planet’s atmosphere concluding that could be thin and contain oxygen.