Overview
- Astronomers published a vetted catalog of 45 rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone, the star distance where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface.
- The study identifies a conservative shortlist of 24 worlds as the most likely to have temperate, potentially livable surfaces.
- Well-known targets such as Proxima Centauri b and TRAPPIST-1’s d, e, f, and g make the cut, with TRAPPIST-1 e and TOI-715 b highlighted as strong near-term Webb candidates.
- The Cornell-led team drew on ESA’s Gaia data and the NASA Exoplanet Archive and ranked planets by stellar radiation, orbital shape, age, and how easy they are to observe.
- Researchers say the crucial next step is to confirm which of these planets have atmospheres using JWST and future facilities like Roman, the ELT, and a planned Habitable Worlds Observatory.