A nearby Venus-like planet, named GJ 1132b, is seen as ‘one of the most important planets ever discovered beyond the solar system’. It is the closest rocky exoplanet found. It could be the first rocky planet outside our solar system to have oxygen.
The planet has an atmosphere, though it is incredibly hot with temperature of 232° Celsius (450° Fahrenheit), which makes it too hot for human life.
A new study has found that the thin and wispy atmosphere may contain oxygen. A planet that’s being baked and sterilised is 39 light years far away.
This magma ocean atmosphere on GJ 1132b could help scientists solve the puzzle of how Venus evolved over time. The planet is flooded with ultraviolet or UV light, and its orbit is close to its star. The UV light is the reason for breaking apart water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.