HD 40307 g
Distance: 42 Lightyears
Star: HD 40307
Constellation: Pictor
We’ve known about HD 40307 g for quite a while now. It was discovered by the University of Hertfordshire’s team led by Mikko Tuomi & the team from the University of Göttingen, Germany, led by Guillem Anglada-Escude. They used the European Southern Observatory’s HARPS apparatus to accomplish this.
We know the exoplanet takes about 197.8 days to orbit its host star, HD 40307. The problem with a lot of the planets in this system is that they seemed to not work. The b, c, d, e, & f planets all had issues. Where b, c, & d navigated too far inward to the host star, the e & f planets were too far out. This could spell disaster for g if it too navigates too far or too close. As of now, it looks to be in a good position but is said to be 50/50 by Tuomi and his team. The big problem is the lack of further information. Since 2012, studies have been underway but we still do not know if this is a large Earth or potentially a smaller, warmer Neptune. Either way, it’s quite compelling and could be among the planets that could house human life one day.