Discovered an Earth-like planet, half of it is habitable

LP 791-18 is about the same size as the Earth and possesses a "treasure" precisely like the Earth - deadly but necessary for life.

According to Space, that particular thing is a volcano. On Earth, volcanism - part of geological activity - and all so-called geological activity are vital for the planet to maintain a stable atmosphere.

The same goes for LP 791-18. It is an extreme planet tidally locked to its parent star. But with unique signs of the existence of volcanoes, miracles can happen.

The planet above orbits a red dwarf star about 90 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Vulture.

Tidal lock means it always faces only one side of the parent star. In the same way, the Moon is tidally locked to Earth. So it has two sides, a day side, and a night side. Both sides are covered with numerous volcanoes.

The team led by astronomy professor Bjorn Benneke from the Institute for Exoplanet Research in Montreal - Canada, and Dr. Jessie Christiansen from NASA's Institute of Exoplanet Science, who found the volcano on LP 791- 18, set expectations on the night side.

"The day side would probably be too hot for liquid water to stay on the surface. But given the amount of volcanic activity we think exists across the planet, it would be possible to allow water to condense on the night side as well. Like maintaining the atmosphere," said Dr. Benneke.

LP 791-18 is the third planet identified in this particular star system. The remaining two planets are about 20% and 2.5 times larger than Earth. All three were discovered by NASA's "exoplanet hunter" TESS.

It will undoubtedly be studied, as astrobiology's relationship between volcanoes and life remains an extensive and exciting question.

"In addition to providing an atmosphere, these processes can stir up materials that would otherwise sink and become trapped in the crust, including those we consider important to Live like carbon," said Dr. Christainen.

The study has just been published in the scientific journal Nature.