An international scientific team led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias has identified a new super-Earth that orbits the K-type orange dwarf star HD 176986, located about 91 light-years from Earth. This discovery has been documented in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics and expands the known number of planets in this system to three. The research underscores the importance of prolonged observation campaigns in detecting smaller planets with wider orbits, which are often difficult to spot otherwise.

Prior to this discovery, the star HD 176986 was already known to host two planets, HD 176986 b and HD 176986 c, identified in 2018 through an analysis conducted by IAC researcher Alejandro Suárez, who is also a co-author of this latest study. These two planets have orbital periods of 6.5 days and 16.8 days, respectively. The ongoing observations of HD 176986 contribute to our understanding of planetary systems and their formation processes, as well as the potential for finding Earth-like worlds in our neighborhood of the galaxy.

The significance of this discovery lies not only in the identification of a new super-Earth but also in demonstrating the effectiveness of sustained observational efforts in astronomy. The findings enhance knowledge about the composition and characteristics of exoplanets, particularly those that share similarities with Earth, thereby providing crucial insights for future studies aimed at exploring the habitability of other worlds.