Astronomers Confirm Super-Earth TOI-1846 b Just 154 Light-Years Away

Astronomers Confirm Super-Earth TOI-1846 b Just 154 Light-Years Away
………………

A new study published on arXiv confirms the discovery of TOI‑1846 b, a super-Earth located 154 light-years away in the constellation Lyra. Detected by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the planet was validated by an international team led by Abderahmane Soubkiou at Morocco’s Oukaimeden Observatory.

TOI‑1846 b orbits a small red dwarf star about 40% the size of our Sun, circling it every four days. The planet is nearly twice Earth’s diameter and four times its mass, suggesting a mix of dense ice and a thin atmosphere, with a surface temperature around 600°F.

Its position on the so-called “radius valley” between rocky super-Earths and gas-rich sub-Neptunes makes it a valuable target for studying how planets form and lose their primordial gases. Astronomers plan to use infrared telescopes and instruments like MAROON‑X in Hawai‘i to measure its mass and search for additional planets.

Future observations, possibly with the James Webb Space Telescope, could detect signs of water vapor or other molecules, deepening understanding of how atmospheres evolve around red dwarfs, which make up most stars in our galaxy.