This Earth-Like Planet Is Probably More Like Venus, New Study Says

While the discovery of an Earth-like planet gives scientists hope in finding another habitable world, a recent study warns this exoplanet may not really be as friendly to life as what they have thought.

The Christian Science Monitor reported that scientists previously found a "super-Earth" orbiting a star named Wolf 1061. The exoplanet dubbed as Wolf 1061c was qualified to fall within the habitable zone, also known as the "Goldilocks zone," due to its temperature being just right for liquid water -- an indicating factor of a planet's sufficiency for life.

Wolf 1061c is believed to be located 14 lightyears away from Earth (about 84 trillion miles) and falls between "conservative habitable zone limits of 0.092 to 0.18 AU and optimistic limits of 0.073 to 0.19 AU" from its host star.

Although Wolf 1061c looked a bit promising to scientists, Professor Stephen Kane, an astrophysicist at San Francisco State University, warns that "super-Earth" may end up being more of a Venus-like planet.

"A planet that's too close would be too hot. If it's too far, it may be too cold and any water would freeze, which is what happens on Mars. Conversely, when planets warm, a 'runaway greenhouse effect' can occur where heat gets trapped in the atmosphere," Kane told Sci News. "It's close enough to Wolf 1061 where it's looking suspiciously like a runaway greenhouse."

A "runaway greenhouse" is a condition that occurred in Venus. According to researchers, the Earth's sister planet previously held oceans of its own. However, the planet's giant volcanoes blew massive amounts of carbon dioxide that contaminated the air, in addition to the Sun's intense heat that boiled the oceans away. This phenomenon left Venus with a dangerously thick atmosphere and a temperature as hot as 880 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wolf 1061c may look suspicious for now. But Kane is looking forward to further research in coming up with a more precise observation on the planet's surface.