An article published in “The Astronomical Journal” reports the discovery of a so-called ocean planet cataloged as TOI-1452 b. A team of researchers used observations conducted with NASA’s TESS space telescope and confirmation obtained using follow-up observations conducted with other instruments to locate and subsequently estimate the characteristics of this super-Earth that could be completely covered by an ocean. Its relative proximity to Earth and its position make it an excellent target for further observations, including with the James Webb Space Telescope.
About 100 light-years from Earth, the star TOI-1452, also known as TIC 420112589, is a red dwarf with a mass and size of about a quarter of the Sun’s. It has a slightly smaller companion cataloged as TIC 420112587. A candidate exoplanet was discovered around it following multiple observations conducted by the TESS space telescope.
False positives among exoplanet candidates are more common when detected in binary or multiple systems with nearby light sources, so it was even more important to verify the actual existence of TOI-1452 b. Various instruments were used to confirm that it’s a real exoplanet and subsequently it was possible to study it with the infrared spectropolarimeter SPIRou mounted on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.
The data collected indicate that the exoplanet TOI-1452 b has a radius that is about 1.7 times the Earth’s for a mass that is around 4.8 times the Earth’s. This suggests that it’s a super-Earth with a density that can be explained by a percentage of water around 22% of its mass.
The year of exoplanet TOI-1452 b lasts almost exactly 11 Earth days. This means that it’s very close to its star but is within that system’s habitable zone because the stellar emissions are much weaker than the Sun’s. If it had an atmosphere comparable to Earth’s, water could be in its liquid state on its surface. If the estimates of the amount of water are correct, this would mean that it’s a so-called ocean planet, in the sense that its surface could be completely covered by water.
Some exoplanets discovered in the past have already been considered candidates to be ocean planets but so far the observations don’t have sufficient quality to give a certain answer. Astrophysicist René Doyon, one of the authors of the study on exoplanet TOI-1452 b, is also the principal investigator of the James Webb space telescope’s NIRISS instrument and stated that he and his colleagues intend to book time on Webb as soon as possible to observe TOI-1452 b. This exoplanet is relatively close and in an area that Webb can observe year-round. Webb can examine the atmosphere of an exoplanet better than any other existing telescope, so it can offer some answers to the characteristics of TOI-1452 b.
