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CTOnews.com, February 4 (Xinhua)-- an international team of astronomers has recently discovered another exoplanet that is very close to Earth and may be suitable for human habitation-Wolf 1069 b. The exoplanet orbits the star Wolf 1069, 31 light-years from Earth.

Simulation of red dwarf star Wolf 1069 (source: NASA)

Wolf 1069 b Art Restoration Map (source: NASA) it is extremely difficult to find potentially habitable exoplanets in nearby stars. CTOnews.com learned that of the more than 5000 exoplanets that astronomers have discovered so far, only 12 are close to Earth and may have liquid water on the planet's surface.

The study, published Feb. 3 in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Wolf 1069 b orbits a red dwarf star, Wolf 1069, 31 light-years from Earth.

The study suggests that Wolf 1069 b may be a rocky planet with about 1.26 times the mass of Earth and 1.08 times the size of Earth. Wolf 1069 b also operates in the habitable zone of its star, where liquid water may exist on its surface.

Diana Kossakowski, who led the observation team, said: "when we analyzed the star data of Wolf 1069, we found a clear, low-amplitude signal that appears to be a planet Wolf 1069 b with about the mass of Earth. It orbits the star in a period of 15.6 days, and the distance from the star is equal to 1/15 of the distance between the earth and the sun. Like our moon, it is a tide-locked planet, which means that one side of it is always facing Wolf 1069, while the other side is always in darkness.

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