中国科学家领衔国际研究团队发现“超级地球”

Core Insights - An international research team led by the Yunnan Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has discovered a "super-Earth" named Kepler-725c located in the habitable zone of a sun-like star, with a mass approximately 10 times that of Earth [1][4] - This discovery marks the first time that the Transit Timing Variation (TTV) inversion technique has been used to identify such a planet in the habitable zone of a sun-like star [1][4] - The host star, Kepler-725, is a G9V type star, younger than the Sun at 1.6 billion years old, and exhibits more intense magnetic activity [1][4] Discovery Methodology - The planet Kepler-725c was not initially detected by the Kepler Space Telescope but was inferred through the observation of timing deviations in the transit of another planet within the Kepler-725 system [2][4] - The TTV inversion technique allows for the detection of "hidden" planets without needing to observe them directly, relying instead on the measurement of transit times of resonant planets [4] Future Implications - The new methodology and subsequent research outcomes will support future Chinese space astronomy missions, such as the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST) and the Earth 2.0 (ET) project, by providing new observational targets and detection techniques [5] - The research team plans to apply the TTV inversion technique to more exoplanet systems to search for "hidden" planets in the habitable zones of sun-like stars and red dwarf stars [5]