The question of whether earthlings are alone in the universe has long puzzled many scientists, from biologists and physicists to philosophers, and has also become a material for filmmakers. For many years now, this question has haunted the astronomer from San Francisco State University Stephen Kane, who devoted his life to searching for exoplanets.
As one of the world's foremost explorers, Kane has focused on finding 'habitable zones', regions where liquid water can exist on the planet's surface and where there is sufficient atmospheric pressure. Kane and his team, including Miranda Waters, surveyed the habitable zone of the planetary system 14 light years from Earth. The results turned out to be very intriguing and got into the next issue of the Astrophysical Journal titled 'Characteristics of the planetary system Wolf 1061.'
“The Wolf 1061 system is very important because it is relatively close and we have the opportunity to do follow-up research to see if life actually exists there,” Kane said.
However, Wolf 1061's close proximity to Earth wasn't the only thing that made it an attractive study for Kane and his team. One of the three known planets in the system is a rocky planet called Wolf 1061c, which is 100% within the habitable zone. With the help of staff from the University of Tennessee and from Geneva in Switzerland, they were able to measure the star around which the planet is orbiting. The results astounded scientists.
It turned out that Wolf 1061c is located close to the inner edge of the habitable zone, that is, closer to the star. According to Kane, this could mean that the planet has an atmosphere similar to that of Venus.
Sources: Phys
