Astronomers have detected a repeating radio signal from an exoplanet 12 light-years from Earth and the star it orbits.
How do stars form in distant galaxies? Astronomers have long tried to answer this question by detecting the radio signals emitted by nearby galaxies.
However, these signals weaken as a galaxy moves away from Earth, making it difficult for current radio telescopes to receive.
Astronomers have detected a repeating radio signal from an exoplanet 12 light-years from Earth and the star it orbits.
The signal indicates that the Earth-sized planet could have a magnetic field and perhaps even an atmosphere.
Could Be Life
Finding atmospheres around planets located outside our solar system could potentially point to other worlds capable of supporting life.
Scientists are analyzing powerful radio waves from the star YZ Ceti and its orbiting rocky exoplanet, YZ Ceti b, during observations using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Telescope Array in New Mexico.
Researchers believe that the radio signal is produced by interactions between the planet’s magnetic field and the star.
