Scientists might have managed to discover thousands of exoplanets in different star systems, but they were yet to find evidence of exoplanets in other galaxies outside our Milky Way. Now, with the help of data collected by NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Telescope, a team of scientists has discovered a Saturn-sized planet in the Messier 51 galaxy, reports BBC.
The planet is located around 28 million light-years away, which again reminds us of the mind-boggling vastness of the universe. To make the discovery, the team observed dips in a star’s light that occur when a planet passes between it and us, a technique known as the transit method.
A world 28 million light-years away
The planet seems to be located in the binary system named M51-ULS-1. The team noticed a dip in the X-rays emanating from the star system, which is in a region where X-rays are produced, making it an ideal target for observation.
“The method we developed and employed is the only presently implementable method to discover planetary systems in other galaxies,” Rosanne Di Stefano, lead author of a paper detailing the research published in the journal Nature Astronomy, told the BBC.
“It is a unique method, uniquely well-suited to finding planets around X-ray binaries at any distance from which we can measure a light curve,” she added.
Will take 70 years to confirm discovery
It’s still too early to conclude that it’s a planet, and its orbit is so large that it takes around 70 years for it to orbit its star, which means the next dip in X-rays is almost 70 years out and makes it really tough to confirm to verify.
“We know we are making an exciting and bold claim so we expect that other astronomers will look at it very carefully,” co-author Julia Berndtsson said in a NASA statement. But the team believes it has a “strong argument, and this process is how science works,” she added.
Scientists working on a new study believe they have discovered a new type of habitable planet known as “Hycean” planets. These exoplanets are covered in a global ocean and feature a hydrogen-abundant atmosphere. Researchers say Hycean planets are more observable than planets like ours.
