LHS 1140 b is an exoplanet orbiting within the conservative habitable zone of the red dwarf star LHS 1140. Discovered in 2017 by the MEarth Project, LHS 1140 b is about 5.6 times the mass of Earth and about 70% larger in radius, putting it within the super-Earth category of planets. It was initially thought to be a dense rocky planet, but refined measurements of its mass and radius have found a lower density than previously estimated, indicating that it is likely an ocean planet with 9-19% of its mass composed of water. LHS 1140 b orbits entirely within the star's habitable zone and gets 43% the incident flux of Earth. The planet is 49 light-years away and transits its star, making it an excellent candidate for atmospheric studies with ground-based and/or space telescopes. Near-infrared ground-based spectroscopic observations have suggested the presence of an atmosphere containing helium. If this is true, this would be the first detection of a rocky exoplanet atmosphere in the habitable zone. However, observations with JWST have not detected any atmospheric helium.
Host star
LHS 1140 b orbits a star named LHS 1140. It is 18.4% the mass and 21.6% the radius of the Sun with a spectral type of M4.5V. The temperature of LHS 1140 is 3,096 K (2,823 °C; 5,113 °F), and it has a luminosity of 0.0038 times that of the Sun. It is at least 5 billion years old. For comparison, the Sun is 1 solar mass and radius, has a temperature of 5,778 K (5,505 °C; 9,941 °F) with 1 solar luminosity, is 4.5 billion years old, and has the spectral type of G2V. In addition, LHS 1140 is a very inactive star, with no major flare events found by the discovery team of its planet. Unlike most stars its size, LHS 1140 has low amounts of activity and rotates every 130 days.
Characteristics
Mass and radius LHS 1140 b has been detected using both the radial velocity method (which measures the mass of a companion object) and transit photometry (which determines radius). Because of this, LHS 1140 b is one of very few potentially habitable exoplanets with a determined mass and radius, the others all being those around TRAPPIST-1. The planet's radius is well-constrained at 1.730±0.025 R🜨, equivalent to about 11,000 km. Its radius is similar to that of Kepler-62e. A recent study from 2023 reevaluates the mass and radius of LHS 1140 b, finding a mass of 5.60±0.19 M🜨 and a radius of 1.730±0.025 R🜨, less massive and larger than previous estimates. This would make LHS 1140 b an ocean world or dense mini-Neptune rather than a terrestrial planet.
Orbit and temperature The orbit of LHS 1140 b takes 24.737 days to complete, much quicker than Earth's year of 365 days. Its orbital radius is at 0.0946 AU, or 9.46% the distance between Earth and the Sun. While this is quite close, the star LHS 1140 is so dim that the planet only gets 0.43 times the incident flux of Earth at this distance. Assuming an albedo of 0, LHS 1140 b has an equilibrium temperature of 230 K (−43 °C; −46 °F), compared to Earth's at 255 K (−18 °C; −1 °F). If LHS 1140 b has an albedo similar to that of Earth, the equilibrium temperature would be even lower, at 201 K (−72 °C; −98 °F). However, with a greenhouse effect at least as strong as Earth's LHS 1140 b would have a surface temperature greater than 266 K (−7 °C; 19 °F) for an albedo of 0. Due to the high mass of the planet, it likely has a thicker atmosphere with a more powerful greenhouse effect. Like many potentially habitable planets around red dwarfs, the orbit of LHS 1140 b is quite circular: the eccentricity is measured to be lower than 0.29 to a 90% confidence. The circularization of the orbit cannot be explained by stellar tides, and thus the circularity of the orbit is likely to be natal.
Composition Initially the planet was believed to have an extremely high density around 12.5 g/cm3, one of the highest ever observed for a rocky planet and over twice the density of Earth, with an iron-nickel core taking up to 75% of the planet's total mass. Later studies in 2018 and 2020 revised the planet's radius upwards, giving it a density of 7.82+0.98−0.88 g/cm3, still consistent with a rocky composition, and a lower core mass fraction of 49±7%. For comparison, Earth's core comprises about 32.5% of its mass. The 2020 study also suggests that about 4% of the planet's mass is composed of water, suggesting it could be an ocean world estimated to have an average ocean depth of 779±650 km. A 2023 study measuring the planet's mass and radius with greater precision found a lower mass of about 5.6 times Earth's, and a correspondingly lower density, no longer consistent with a rocky planet given the planet's size. LHS 1140 b is likely an ocean world with an even greater water mass fraction of 9-19%, or a dense mini-Neptune. JWST observations rule out a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, supporting the ocean world scenario.
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